ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Anaerobic Digestion

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of energy generation was produced through anaerobic digestion in each of the last three years; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the levels of energy production through that source.

Dan Rogerson: The following table details UK energy generation from anaerobic digestion over the period requested:
	
		
			 UK energy generation from anaerobic digestion 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 Percentage of supply 0.15 0.20 0.23 
			 Percentage of final consumption 0.22 0.29 0.33 
		
	
	The Government are committed to increasing energy from waste through anaerobic digestion. We continue to provide financial support for its growth through low carbon incentives, the Green Investment Bank and a Driving Innovation Fund to reduce costs and improve efficiency. We have also provided support through a loan fund.
	Most of the actions in our 2011 Anaerobic Digestion Strategy have been delivered to help overcome barriers to deployment and facilitate an increase in energy from this source. Other actions are ongoing.

Coastal Erosion

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will seek to involve all the regions and constituent parts of the UK in developing a UK-wide strategy to tackle coastal erosion.

Dan Rogerson: Flood and coastal erosion risk management is a devolved matter for each Administration. DEFRA provides strategic overview for the management of coastal erosion in England.

Environment Agency

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the current staffing complement is in the Environment Agency's legal services and operations departments; and how many staff have applied to leave under such staff reduction plans.

Dan Rogerson: As of 28 February this year, the Environment Agency directly employs 8,532 full-time employees within Operations and Legal Services. These figures exclude employment agency staff and contractors and are rounded to whole full-time equivalent numbers.
	The Environment Agency has received 1,003 requests to leave the organisation under its voluntary early release scheme.

Environment Agency

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many legal and enforcement cases there were in each geographic area of the Environment Agency on 26 February 2014; and how many such cases were (a) under investigation, (b) being considered for enforcement action, (c) being considered for legal action by the legal services department and (d) issued and proceeding through the courts;
	(2)  how many enforcement cases run by the Environment Agency were (a) under investigation, (b) proceeding, having been issued in the courts and (c) completed on 26 February 2014.

Dan Rogerson: For points (a) to (d) following, the data were gathered for the purpose of answering these sections on 14 March this year and relate to that date, not 26 February.
	(a) The number of current investigations in the Environment Agency regions at 14 March is:
	
		
			 Region Total 
			 Midlands 108 
			 South West 213 
			 North West 208 
			 Anglian 272 
			 South East 537 
			 Yorkshire/North East 198 
		
	
	(b) All of the above investigations will be considered for enforcement action in due course.
	(c) The number of cases being considered for legal action by the Environment Agency's legal services department is:
	
		
			 Region Total 
			 Midlands 58 
			 South West 66 
			 North West 47 
			 Anglian 22 
			 South East 58 
			 Yorkshire/North East 146 
		
	
	(d) The number of cases issued and proceeding through the courts is:
	
		
			 Region Total 
			 Midlands 21 
			 South West 24 
			 North West 44 
			 Anglian 28 
			 South East 31 
			 Yorkshire and North East 94 
		
	
	The Environment Agency does not believe that there were any cases resolved on 26 February this year. However, it can routinely take three to four weeks for the Environment Agency's records to be finalised.

Environment Protection: British Overseas Territories

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps have been taken as part of the initiative to address threats to marine ecosystems in the Overseas Territories in the Caribbean.

George Eustice: DEFRA ran a research competition in 2011 on understanding and addressing threats to marine ecosystems in the Overseas Territories in the Caribbean. The competition was won by the university of Newcastle and has been running for three years in Anguilla, Turks and Caicos and the British Virgin Islands, with the full support of the relevant Overseas Territories’ Governments. The project combines natural and social science and will identify major threats to coral reef health in the Caribbean and potential solutions for their sustainable management. The final report will be published later this year.

Fishing Vessels

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Richmond Park, of 3 February 2011, Official Report, column 907W, on fishing vessels, what progress has been made on the creation of a global record of fishing vessels by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and what work is being undertaken by his Department on the mandatory use of International Maritime Organisation numbers for fishing vessels for the purposes of improving transparency in the global fishing industry.

George Eustice: Significant progress has been made with the establishment of the global record of fishing vessels. In December 2013, at its 28th session, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted Resolution A.1078(28). This makes fishing vessels of 100 gross tonnage or above subject to the IMO Ship Identification Number Scheme. This number will become the unique vessel identifier to be used in the global record.
	Discussions are ongoing at EU level as to the process to be adopted to acquire IMO numbers for those vessels that do not currently have them.

Fishing Vessels

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the use of flag brokers and flags of convenience by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing vessels; and what representations he has made to his EU counterparts on this matter.

George Eustice: DEFRA, together with the Marine Management Organisation, regularly monitors the movements of fishing vessels on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) lists and discusses the implications with the Commission and other member states. Under the EU IUU Regulation, any flag state that wishes to validate catch certificates for the export of fisheries products to the EU must first notify the Commission that it is able to ensure its fishing fleet is compliant with all appropriate rules and laws.

Flood Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on flood defences per head of population in (a) England and (b) each region of England in each year since 2009.

Dan Rogerson: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			 Average spend per head on flood and coastal erosion risk management in England 
			  £ 
			 2008-09 10.62 
			 2009-10 11.83 
			 2010-11 12.52 
			 2011-12 10.71 
			 2012-13 10.77 
		
	
	
		
			 Average spend per head on flood and coastal erosion risk management in each of the Environment Agency regions 
			 £ 
			 EA region 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Anglian 18.86 16.75 17.70 18.98 20.93 
			 Midlands 9.96 11.01 12.10 9.31 7.04 
			 Yorkshire and North East 9.52 12.51 12.07 11.15 11.10 
			 North West 8.64 9.66 11.47 8.69 8.70 
			 South East 7.92 10.08 10.10 8.91 9.26 
			 South West 16.19 15.80 18.43 11.77 13.21 
		
	
	The figures for each year are the total DEFRA spend on flood and coastal erosion risk management divided by the most recent ONS population estimate for mid-2012.

Forests

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 552W, on forests, if he will make it the Environment Agency's policy to record this information in future.

Dan Rogerson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 32W.

Forests

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2014, Official Report, column 694W, on forests, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Development over the lessons to be learnt from her Department's contour afforestation schemes in developing countries.

Dan Rogerson: There have been no discussions with the Secretary of State for International Development, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) on research her Department has conducted in developing countries into contour afforestation schemes.

Hunting Act 2004

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the contribution by the Prime Minister of 5 March 2014, Official Report, column 886, whether he has received and examined any proposals to amend the Hunting Act 2004; and if he will take steps to ensure that any such proposal will be subject to (a) a full consultation by his Department, (b) a full impact assessment with supporting data and modelling made available to Parliament and (c) a free vote in the House.

George Eustice: DEFRA received representations about an amendment to the Hunting Act that would help, in particular, upland farmers deal with the problem of fox predation of their lambs. We recognise the difficulties some hill farmers face but there are no plans to introduce an amendment to the Hunting Act.
	The commitment in the coalition agreement is to bring forward a motion on a free vote on the repeal of the Hunting Act. This commitment still stands and a vote will come forward at an appropriate time.

Pest Control

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects his Department's consultation on pest control to be concluded; and what the outcome has been of his Department's discussions on this matter with representatives of shooting organisations.

George Eustice: Natural England's consultation on the general and class licences it issues under wildlife legislation closes on 19 May 2014. All those who use these licences or have an interest, including shooting organisations, are encouraged to provide their views to Natural England by the closing date.
	A summary of responses received will be published after the consultation has ended.
	The consultation and associated documents can be viewed on Natural England's website at:
	www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/regulation/wildlife/licences/wildlifelicensingconsultation.aspx

Pet Foods: China

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made in persuading China to recognise UK export health certificates for pet foods.

George Eustice: holding answer 27 March 2014
	Officials continue to work closely with the pet food industry to complete the questionnaires required by the Chinese authorities as the first stage in negotiations towards agreeing an export health certificate for pet food exports.

Sheep: Theft

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received on sheep rustling.

George Eustice: DEFRA has not received any such representations recently.

Water Charges

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the letter of 19 March 2014 from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Water, Forestry, Rural Affairs and Resource Management to the hon. Member for Torbay, what the evidential basis is for his statement that offering a water company funding for domestic users who happen to occupy business premises would risk such a payment being classified as state aid under European legislation.

Dan Rogerson: This rebate is for household customers of South West Water only. It would be inappropriate to subsidise the water bills of large businesses from limited public funds. We could not distinguish between small and large businesses without spending public money on a bureaucratic application process which would further reduce the funding available to support household customers. Furthermore, any payment of public funds to a business of any size is open to challenge under the European State Aid rules. If such a payment was determined as unlawful, those businesses would be legally liable. This risk would be disproportionate to the benefit conferred by the annual £50 reduction. Therefore, in the case of ‘mixed use' premises, the bill reduction can only apply where the person liable to pay the council tax is not also liable to pay business rates for those premises.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Electricity Generation

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many spare (a) generator step-up transformers and (b) transmission transformers are held in the UK.

Michael Fallon: Electricity generation in the U.K. is privatised and the decisions on spare step-up transformers are for the individual generator businesses. Electricity transmission operations in the UK are private, regulated businesses. Decisions on spare transmission connected transformers are matters for the transmission businesses, to meet the licence conditions under which they operate; they form an important component in the provision of reliability of supply. The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not hold data on generator step-up transformer or transmission connected transformer quantities held as spares by industry.

Electricity Generation

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which companies manufacture (a) generator step-up transformers and (b) transmission transformers in the UK.

Michael Fallon: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not hold comprehensive data on generator step-up and transmission connected transformer manufacturers in the U.K. The transformers used in the privatised electricity industry are sourced from manufacturers such as Alstom Grid based in Staffordshire, among others in the UK and globally.

Energy

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of people who have switched energy suppliers in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and Humber and (c) England in each of the last 60 months.

Gregory Barker: DECC does not hold any sub-national data on switching energy suppliers; data are only available for Great Britain. These data are published in table 2.7.1 of the DECC publication Quarterly Energy Prices, which is made available online at the link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quarterly-domestic-energy-switching-statistics

Energy: Housing

Iain McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the average time it takes for householders who have installed energy efficient products in their property to recover their costs; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Department’s latest estimates for households installing energy efficient products in their property do not assume a single payback period. The time required to recover installation costs will depend on a large number of factors, specific to the household. Some of the main influencing factors are: the property’s type and size; the measures installed and their cost; the household’s pattern of energy use before the installation; the energy efficiency of the property before the installation; and whether or not there was a subsidy to contribute to the measure’s cost.
	All the Department’s take-up projections for energy efficiency measures assume that the households installing measures will recover all the installation costs, with payback ranging from 0 to 25 years.

Environment Protection: Taxation

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon) of 3 March 2014, Official Report, column 721, on Government levies on energy bills, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of a freeze of the carbon floor price on the number and capacity of projects that will be brought forward under the levy control framework.

Michael Fallon: The levy control framework has been designed with the flexibility to be able to respond to policy changes. The Government expect to meet their renewable energy ambition as set out in the Electricity Market Reform Delivery plan within the Levy Control Framework.

Environment Protection: Taxation

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks of 3 March 2014, Official Report, column 725, on Government levies on energy bills, when he plans to present to the House the first annual report on consumer-funded policies, covering actual expenditure and forecast expenditure.

Michael Fallon: The first annual report on consumer-funded levies will be published to a timetable consistent with Ofgem’s reporting on the renewables obligation for 2013-14, scheduled for March 2015. Officials are currently considering how that date could be brought forward.

Fossil Fuels: Russia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the value of UK imports of (a) coal, (b) gas and (c) oil from Russia was in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Michael Fallon: The value of UK imports of coal, primary oil and petroleum products from Russia between 2008 and 2012 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Coal 1,570 1,130 533 945 1,092 
			 Primary oil 2,184 1,156 1,278 2,316 3,321 
			 Petroleum products 1,091 770 1,186 1,805 1,819 
		
	
	There was no gas imported directly from Russia by the UK.

Fossil Fuels: Russia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of the UK's (a) coal, (b) gas and (c) oil requirements were met by imports from Russia in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Michael Fallon: The amounts of coal and oil imported from Russia by the UK for each year between 2008 and 2012 compared to total UK demand for those fuels are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Coal      
			 Import (thousand tonnes) 21,249 17,726 8,322 12,126 16,933 
			 Proportion of demand (percentage) 33 34 15 22 25 
			       
			 Primary oil      
			 Import (thousand tonnes) 8,295 5,065 5,000 6,058 7,491 
			 Proportion of demand (percentage) 10 7 7 8 11 
			       
			 Petroleum products      
			 Import (thousand tonnes) 1,435 2,066 2,306 2,407 2,630 
			 Proportion of demand (percentage) 2 3 3 4 4 
		
	
	There was no gas imported directly from Russia by the UK.

Fuel Oil: North West

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of properties in (a) Rossendale and Darwen constituency and (b) the North West which do not have mains gas access and which use domestic heating oil.

Michael Fallon: Estimates for the number of households which do not have mains gas and which use domestic heating oil are not available. However, the number of households that did not have access to a mains gas supply in the Rossendale and Darwen constituency can be estimated by combining figures for the lower layer super output areas that most closely match this area.
	In 2012, there were approximately 1,100 households (3%) which had no access to mains gas. The number of households that did not have access to mains gas in the north-west is estimated to be 156,000 (5% of households within the north-west).
	These data are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lsoa-estimates-of-households-not-connected-to-the-gas-network

Fuel Oil: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of properties in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber which do not have mains gas access and which use domestic heating oil.

Gregory Barker: Estimates for the number of households which do not have mains gas and which use domestic heating oil are not available. However, the number of households that did not have access to a mains gas supply in the Brigg and Goole constituency can be estimated by combining figures for the lower layer super output areas that most closely match this area.
	In 2012, there were approximately 4,400 households (12%) which had no access to mains gas. The number of households that did not have access to mains gas in Yorkshire and the Humber is estimated to be 127,000 (6% of households within Yorkshire and the Humber).
	These data are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lsoa-estimates-of-households-not-connected-to-the-gas-network

Public Appointments

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change who has been appointed as a non-executive director of his Department since the publication of information on non-executive directors in his Department's annual report and accounts 2012-13; what the date of each such appointment was; what annual fee is payable to each such person; what expenses and allowances each such person has claimed to date; and what other interests or employment each such person has.

Gregory Barker: Since the last annual report Martin Stewart has joined the Department as lead non-executive director on 3 June 2013; and Tom Kelly joined on 3 February 2014.
	Martin Stewart is CEO of Eurotaxglass Ltd, he is also a non-executive director and chair of the audit committee on London 2017 Ltd, and non-executive director and chair of the audit committee of SIS Ltd.
	Tom Kelly is currently the corporate communications director at Network Rail. He moves to become strategic communications adviser for HS2 on 1 April 2014.
	Their fees are £20,000 PA and £15,000 PA respectively. Neither has claimed expenses from the Department since taking up their role.

Solar Power

Iain McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of houses in the UK that have solar panels.

Gregory Barker: The latest published statistics show that as at the end of December 2013, there were 427,897 solar panel installations on domestic properties, representing 97% of the total number of solar panels installed in GB (442,102).
	Statistics to the end of March 2014 will be published at 9:30 am on Wednesday 23 April 2014 on the DECC Statistics webpage:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics

Working Hours

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of employees in his Department of each (a) civil service pay grade and (b) gender work (i) reduced hours, (ii) flexi-time, (iii) from home, (iv) a compressed working week, (v) job share, (vi) term-time only and (vii) part-time.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has a flexible working policy which allows its staff to apply to work through a range of flexible working options. These include part-time working, job sharing, compressed hours, as well as working from home on an occasional or more regular basis or as part of a formal arrangement where staff are officially based at home. DECC does not hold central records of those staff who have made a statutory application for flexible working.
	Information relating to staff who work part-time is recorded centrally and the proportion of those by (a) civil service pay grade and (b) gender is set out in the following tables:
	
		
			 Civil service pay grade 
			 Percentage 
			  Full-time Part-time 
			 AO 89 11 
			 EO 93 7 
			 HEO 96 4 
			 FASTSTREAM 100 0 
			 SEO 95 5 
		
	
	
		
			 G7 91 9 
			 G6 86 14 
			 SCS 91 9 
			    
			 Total 92 8 
		
	
	
		
			 Gender 
			 Percentage 
			  Full-time Part-time 
			 Female 86 14 
			 Male 98 2 
			    
			 Total 92 8

TRANSPORT

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

Stephen Hammond: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude) on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

Driving: Young People

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to announce the findings of the Green Paper on improving the safety and reducing risks to young drivers.

Robert Goodwill: The safety of young people on our roads is very important to us. Too many young people die, too often; we are wrestling with how to make things safer, while not unduly restricting the freedom of our young people. We want young people to be able to get to work and training, to education and to leisure activities, and we want them to do so safely. We are finding this a difficult balance, with passionate voices on both sides.
	On 27 January 2014, we held a meeting with the insurance industry and agreed the Department would commission new research into how telematics can change the behaviour and attitudes of learner drivers. We look forward to insurance companies sharing their data so that we can undertake this research.
	We are also in the process of undertaking some focus groups with parents, young people and employers to get a better understanding of the issues from their perspective.

Fines

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) date, (b) amount and (c) reasons were for any fines or penalties his Department has paid to HM Treasury since May 2010.

Stephen Hammond: The following table shows fines and penalties collected and passed on to HM Treasury by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial Period Late Licensing Penalties Traditional Enforcement Wheel-Clamping Continuous Insurance Enforcement Total 
			 2010-11 29 12 8 0 49 
			 2011-12 24 7 5 2 38 
			 2012-13 28 6 5 3 42 
			 2013-141 13 5 5 4 27 
			 1 The figures for 2013-14 are interim (April - February) and subject to year-end adjustments. 
		
	
	The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (which now includes the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) also collects fines and penalties on behalf of HM Treasury, figures are shown as follows and are not yet available for 2013-14. Fixed penalties are recouped from drivers and operators of PCV/LGVs for a number of different possible infractions. The Traffic Commissioners may impose financial penalties against bus operators as part of their regulatory role.
	
		
			 £000 
			 Financial Period Fixed Penalties Bus Penalties Total 
			 2010-11 2,431 197 2,628 
			 2011-12 2,142 41 2,183 
			 2012-13 1,808 221 2,029

Fisheries

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to ratify the International Labour Organisation amendment C188 on the Work in Fishing Convention, in respect of a minimum age for work on a fishing vessel, minimum medical standards, basic work agreements, occupational health and safety, and social security.

Stephen Hammond: The Government support the principles behind the International Labour Organisation Convention on Work in Fishing (No. 188), and are working with the fishing industry to develop proposals for implementation of the Convention, including those aspects listed above.
	The UK will make a final decision on the appropriateness and timing of ratification once the impacts on the industry have been identified and assessed.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  with reference to HS2 Plus published on 17 March 2014, on what basis he has decided that the North's integrated station should be Crewe; and what alternative locations were considered;
	(2)  if he will consider rerouting High Speed 2 phase 2 through Stoke-on-Trent rather than Crewe as part of his consideration of the public responses to his Department's consultation.

Robert Goodwill: We have received over 10,000 responses to the Phase Two consultation. These are still being analysed and considered, and no decisions on the Phase Two route have been taken. We are considering the recommendation on Crewe as part of our response to the Phase Two consultation which will include analysis and consideration of the proposals to reroute the line through Stoke-on-Trent, as well as all other responses to the consultation. I will respond to the consultation on Phase Two later this year.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there will be a review of the cost-benefit analysis of High Speed 2 following the decision to revise the High Speed 2 and High Speed 1 link.

Robert Goodwill: We will continue to revise and update the economic case for HS2 as new project milestones are reached, such as decisions on the preferred route for Phase 2, to ensure it is based on the best available evidence and latest understanding of the project, including taking account of the decision to remove the existing proposals for the HS1-HS2 link from the scheme.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of how much more tickets for journeys on High Speed 2 will cost than for journeys on conventional trains; and how the cost of tickets for journeys on High Speed 2 will be calculated.

Robert Goodwill: The strategic case for HS2 assumes that fares are similarly priced between services that operate on and off the HS2 infrastructure. However, the key decisions on fares and services on HS2 once services open in 2026 will be taken by future Governments, as part of determining wider rail policy for the GB rail network as a whole.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 28 February 2014, Official Report, columns 511-2W, on High Speed 2 railway line, at what URL the March 2012 reports of HS2 Ltd are published; and on what pages of those reports the evidence that led to the decision to route via Crewe rather than Stoke-on-Trent is set out.

Robert Goodwill: The March 2012 report setting out the options that HS2 Ltd considered for Phase Two, and describing the process of analysing and refining them, can be viewed at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/options-for-phase-two-of-the-high-speed-rail-network
	The information relating to Stoke-on-Trent is in section 4.3 (pages 34 to 69).
	Further information can also be found in the ‘HS2 Phase Two Engineering Options Report West Midlands to Manchester (parts 1 and 2)' at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-phase-two-engineering-options-report-west-midlands-to-manchester
	Section 7 in part 2 of the report sets out the history of line of route options studied (pages 279 to 283).
	Responses to the Phase Two consultation are being considered currently and no decisions have yet been taken on the route. We will make an announcement in the autumn.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 28 February 2014, Official Report, columns 511-2W, on High Speed 2 railway line, what calculations were done to demonstrate that alternative schemes would fail to deliver sufficient additional capacity; and what the passenger load factor of High Speed 2 will be as against the passenger load factor of longer trains.

Robert Goodwill: Since 2009 we have considered a wide range of alternative options to a high speed railway including the use of alternative modes, a conventional speed line and upgrades to the existing rail network. The alternatives do not release capacity for commuter and freight services, fail to offer a robust solution to the problem of poor service performance and would significantly disrupt services as upgrade work is carried out.
	All of the calculations to demonstrate that alternative schemes would fail to deliver as much capacity as HS2 to address future levels of over-crowding have been published. These are summarised in the Strategic Case for HS2 released in October 2013
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-strategic-case
	From the October 2013 economic case, and for the standard case run, the average all-day load factor for HS2 services in 2036 for the full network is 41%, and accordingly higher during peak periods. Equivalent data for the alternatives have been published in the HS2 Strategic Alternatives Final Report (Atkins, 2013)
	http://assets.hs2.org.uk/sites/default/files/inserts/S%26A%201_Economic%20case_0.pdf

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2014, Official Report, column 455W, on High Speed 2 railway line, on what basis it has been calculated that the (a) expense of and (b) disruption caused by adopting double-decker carriages on the West Coast Main Line would be greater than that of the construction of High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: Since 2009 we have considered a wide range of alternative options to a high speed railway including the use of alternative modes, a conventional speed line and upgrades to the existing rail network. The alternatives do not release capacity for commuter and freight services, fail to offer a robust solution to the problem of poor performance and would significantly disrupt services as upgrade work is carried out.
	The March 2010 High Speed 2 Strategic Alternatives Study considered the potential for using double deck trains on WCML as one means of enhancing capacity on conventional rail routes between London and the West Midlands/North West. It found that while double decking, and the less expensive alternative of train lengthening, would increase the number of passengers per train there is a practical limit to the expansion of capacity on WCML and only limited opportunity to reduce journey times.
	All of the calculations to demonstrate that alternative schemes would fail to deliver as much capacity as HS2 to address future levels of over-crowding have been published. These are summarised in the Strategic Case for HS2 released in October 2013 which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-strategic-case
	Before such trains could be used on the West Coast Mainline, the route (including diversionary routes) would need to be gauge cleared to allow sufficient space for the trains to operate. This would involve raising all overhead wires, raising bridges, modifying platforms on the route, modifying station canopies, moving or raising all signal gantries and other signage on the route, and lowering track in the tunnels. Work would need to be carried out to modify existing depots or to provide new ones. Additional works would also be required to enable line speeds to be maintained on the route.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of a regional transport hub at Crewe on the proposal by Warrington Borough Council for an alternative route for the High Speed 2 line north of Crewe; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd will undertake work to consider proposals for a hub station at Crewe as part of the consideration of the responses to the Phase Two consultation. This closed on 31 January and all responses, including that from Warrington Borough Council, are currently being considered. No decisions have yet been taken on the route but we will make an announcement on this in the autumn.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic benefits to (a) the North-West and (b) Warrington of further upgrading the West-East line as proposed in the HS2 Plus Report.

Robert Goodwill: No specific assessment has yet been made. In response to the HS2 Plus report, we have commissioned HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to undertake work to allow proposals to accelerate construction of the Crewe section of HS2 Phase Two and to build a new integrated hub station at Crewe to be looked at in detail as part of the consideration of the public consultation responses to Phase Two. We have also commissioned HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to make recommendations on enhancing connectivity in the midlands and the north before our response to the Phase Two consultation.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the proposed service pattern is for classic-compatible High Speed 2 trains serving Carlisle when (a) High Speed 2 phase 1 and (b) High Speed 2 phase 2 opens;
	(2)  what plans he has for Penrith North Lakes, Oxenholme Lake District and Lancaster to be served by classic-compatible High Speed 2 trains.

Robert Goodwill: HS2 will provide a very significant expansion of the rail network's ability to carry passengers and freight, resulting in improvements to rail services throughout the country. It is too soon to set a final train timetable at this stage, but HS2 Ltd and Network Rail have begun a process which will allow us to identify the best possible use of the post-HS2 rail network.
	One set of assumptions, amongst many, has been developed for business case modelling purposes. These assumptions are clearly set out in “The Economic Case for HS2: Assumptions Report” published in October 2013
	http://assets.hs2.org.uk/sites/default/files/inserts/SA%2020_PFM%20assumptions%20report_V3_0.pdf

Railways

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to review the National Rail Conditions of Carriage.

Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State has an approval role under the Ticketing & Settlement Agreement for changes to the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. The Association of Train Operating Companies is responsible for the management of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage and it is for them to propose changes to the Secretary of State for approval.

Railways: Chester

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 4W, on railways: Chester, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Wales on the potential implications for (a) rail services in Chester and (b) Chester railway station of the recommendation in the report on the Commission on Devolution in Wales that the Wales and Borders rail franchise should be devolved to the National Assembly for Wales.

Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State would be happy to discuss these matters with the Secretary of State for Wales when they next meet.

Railways: South West

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what compensation will be available to train operating companies as a result of the rail line closures in the South West of England in early 2014.

Stephen Hammond: Any compensation for the train operators in respect of the rail line closures in the south west of England in early 2014 would be paid by Network Rail in accordance with the track access agreement between Network Rail and the individual train operating companies, as regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation.

Transport: Schools

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the number of schools that undertake cycling training; whether his Department provides information to schools on the wearing of cycle helmets by children; and if he will take steps to ensure that a Travel to School Policy becomes compulsory for all local education authorities in relation to schoolchildren and safety.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport provides funding for the delivery of Bikeability cycle training in England. Currently approximately 8,177 schools take part in training delivered by either their Local Highway Authority or School Games Organiser Host School.
	Bikeability courses include discussions on helmets during the equipment check. Those wearing helmets are taught how to fit and adjust them correctly and there are also wider discussions on safety equipment and what to wear.
	The Department for Education expects local authorities to meet its Home to School Transport Duties which include ensuring safe walking routes and sustainable local travel. There are no plans to change the legislation or the policies that underpin this.

HOME DEPARTMENT

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

Karen Bradley: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude) on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 292W.

Asylum

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applicants receiving support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 have been receiving support for more than (a) two years, (b) four years and (c) six years; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Data specific to your request can be found in the following table.
	
		
			 Band cases Number 
			 Up to two years 2,008 
			 More than two years 822 
			 More than four years 473 
			 More than six years 212 
			 Total 3,515

Asylum

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will announce the asylum support rates for 2014-15.

James Brokenshire: There are no immediate plans to change the support rates provided to destitute asylum seekers.

Asylum: Pregnant Women

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the report by the Refugee Council, When Maternity Doesn't Matter, what steps her Department has taken to reform the dispersal policy of the former UK Border Agency.

James Brokenshire: The report covers procedures for accommodating pregnant asylum seekers who are destitute. The Home Office has been consulting about changes to these procedures and is considering some detailed suggestions by the Refugee Council and Maternity Action. Once that is completed we will move towards finalising and publishing revised guidance on the procedures.

Borders: Personal Records

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the current status is of the Border Systems Programme (BSP); what the timescale is for tendering and choosing suppliers; and when the BSP is expected to be developed and rolled out.

James Brokenshire: The e-Borders programme has been incorporated within the Border Systems' scope of work. Border Systems now assumes responsibility for the Warnings Index and the wider Border Force portfolio of technology projects. Border Systems will build on the foundations of the e-Borders programme, strengthening even further our border security.
	The procurement approach to replacing the primary border security elements of the Border Systems Programme will reflect broader Government ICT and Commercial strategy, and there will be no single, large supplier. The Home Office will lead development, with services procured from a range of providers, potentially including small and medium enterprises.
	By March 2015 the Border Systems Programme aims to:
	complete resilience of all current business critical systems;
	develop replacement primary border security systems;
	provide additional capability to support commitments on exit checks;
	establish a programme for the next generation of Radiological and Nuclear detection (Cyclamen);
	continue the implementation of second generation e-Gates across the estate;
	develop and implement new freight targeting capability for sea containers;
	establish contracts to purchase new detection equipment;
	continue to assure live operations of existing systems.

Deportation

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many serious misconduct complaints related to the use of control and restraint during enforced removal were referred to the Professional Standards Unit in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: Complaints made by, or on behalf of, detainees are managed in accordance with Detention Services Order 3/2011. All allegations of serious misconduct are referred to the Home Office Professional Standards Unit (PSU) for investigation. These include allegations made against staff who work in the detention estate or who are engaged in escorting work.
	Data on the number of complaints referred to the PSU are not recorded. Only data of those complaints where PSU have agreed to investigate are recorded. The number investigated relating to the use of control and restraint during enforced removal is detailed as follows:
	2010: 42
	2011: 30
	2012: 39
	2013: 19.
	These figures are based on management information, which is subject to change, and does not form part of our publicised statistics.

Entry Clearances

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  for what reasons there are differential rates for visas for dependants of British citizens coming from non-EU countries and visas for dependants of EU non-British citizens domiciled in Britain;
	(2)  if she will abolish the differential rates for visas paid by British and EU non-British citizens living in the UK for dependants outside the EU and make the cost of all such visas the same as the EU rate.

James Brokenshire: Dependants of British citizens from non-EU countries who wish to enter the UK are required to apply for entry under the immigration rules. In line with its legislative powers, the Home Office sets immigration and nationality fees to reflect the administrative cost of processing an application as well as benefits and entitlements that may accrue if an applicant is successful. These fees apply to foreign national family members of British citizens applying for entry under the immigration rules. The Home Office believes that it is right that those who use and benefit most from the immigration system contribute to its running costs.
	The rights of EU nationals to live and work in other European Union member states, and to be accompanied by their non-EU family members, are set out in European Union law, in directive 2004/38/EC (“the free movement directive”), by which all EU member states are bound. The free movement directive does not cover the rights of EU citizens living in their country of nationality, so it does not apply to British nationals living in the UK. The free movement directive requires member states to issue entry clearance visas to non-EU family members of EU nationals free of charge.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made regarding the 2014 opt-out pursuant to Article 10(4) of Protocol 36 of the Lisbon Treaty; and what timetable she has set for the UK opting back in to the measures to which that decision relates.

Karen Bradley: On 24 July 2013 the Prime Minister wrote to the President of the Council of Ministers exercising the UK's opt-out from all police and criminal justice measures agreed before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.
	The Government have also announced 35 measures that they will seek to rejoin in the national interest. These are contained in Command Paper 8671:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/235912/8671.pdf

Illegal Immigrants: Employment

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures her Department has introduced in the last year to reduce the number of businesses employing illegal immigrants.

James Brokenshire: Employers have a duty to ensure that their employees have the right to work in the UK, and this duty has been underpinned by a civil penalty scheme since 2008. The Government are taking measures to ensure a tougher response to employers who use illegal labour, while simplifying arrangements for legitimate businesses to conduct right to work checks.
	To deter employers from using illegal workers, the Home Office is doubling the maximum penalty to £20,000. The Government are also using the current Immigration Bill to make it easier to enforce unpaid civil penalties in the civil courts. In addition, with the creation of the new Immigration Enforcement Directorate last year, there has been a 47% increase in illegal working enforcement operations and a corresponding increase in civil penalties imposed, with 1,862 penalties served in 2013-14 (to the end of February) compared to 1,270 in 2012-13. We are also ensuring greater collaboration across Government to increase our “enforcement reach” and the range of sanctions that can be brought to bear against rogue employers who exploit illegal workers.

Immigrants: Detainees

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people held in immigration removal centres and who refused food or fluids have been transferred to prisons since May 2013.

James Brokenshire: No persons held in immigration removal centres have been transferred to prisons since May 2013 due to refusal of food or fluids.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the purpose and scope of the current trials of the Aeryon Skyranger unmanned system based in Gatwick are; if she will publish policy on the storage and use of data obtained in the course of such trials; and if she will make a statement. [R]

Damian Green: Sussex constabulary is undertaking a trial of the Aeryon Skyranger to assess the contribution it might make to the policing of Gatwick airport. This trial is an operational matter for the chief constable.
	In determining the storage and use of data obtained through this trial, the force will be subject to a duty to have regard to the surveillance camera code of practice issued as guidance under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his Office's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

Nicholas Clegg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Terrorism

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with victims of terrorism in Northern Ireland since the announcement of the administrative scheme to issue letters to on-the-run terrorist suspects.

Theresa Villiers: Since 25 February, I have had one meeting directly with the victims of terrorism but matters relating to victims have been raised at a number of other meetings.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Attorney-General what the Law Officers' Departments' policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

Dominic Grieve: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Portcullis House

Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, how many fire alarms have sounded in Portcullis House in the last 12 months; on how many of these occasions the London Fire Brigade arrived to attend a fire; and on how many of these occasions the London Fire Brigade discovered a fire.

John Thurso: There have been three fire alarms resulting in evacuations from Portcullis House in the last 12 months. One of these alarms, on 24 March 2014, led to the attendance of the London Fire Brigade. On this occasion the alarm was triggered by a heat detector following the overheating of a grill in the Lower Ground Kitchens as well as the triggering of a manual call point. No fire was discovered.

WALES

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his Department's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

Stephen Crabb: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

Business

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the growth prospects of small and medium-sized enterprises in Wales.

David Jones: 190,000 small and medium-sized businesses in Wales will be helped by a significant package of support measures announced at Budget 2014, including doubling the Annual Investment Allowance to £500,000 from April 2014 until 31 December 2015, and measures to improve the availability of finance.

EDUCATION

Academies

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education who owns the freehold of schools which have converted to academies; and what restrictions there are on the use of such freeholds.

Edward Timpson: When community schools convert to academies, the freehold is retained by the local authority and a lease is granted to the academy trust.
	There are strict rules protecting publicly funded land used by academies, regardless of who holds the freehold. These are set out in published guidance, which is available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice
	A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the hon. Member to the response of 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W, provided by the Cabinet Office.

Children in Care

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2014, Official Report, columns 556-7W, on children in care, if he will place in the Library (a) the results of the virtual school head pilots conducted between September 2007 and August 2009 and (b) all training materials produced by his Department.

Edward Timpson: The evaluation report of the virtual school head (VSH) pilots was published in August 2009 and can be viewed from the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222044/DCSF-RR144.pdf
	In March 2010 the Department published a VSH toolkit based on the experiences of the pilots and other local authorities that had developed services using the virtual school model. The toolkit can be viewed from the following link:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20131027134109/http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/v/virtual%20school%20head%20toolkit.pdf
	A group of virtual school heads are currently revising the toolkit.
	A copy of the evaluation report and the original toolkit will be placed in the Library of the House when it is complete.
	The enhanced materials for school leaders and governors about the impact of being looked after on children's educational attainment that have been developed through the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) are currently available only through license to training providers.
	NCTL has supported Bath Spa University and Bath and North East Somerset local authority to develop training materials on attachment. This new training resource, ‘An Introduction to Attachment and the Implications for Learning', which includes video footage, is available on the NCTL website members' site:
	http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/docinfo?id=651084&filename=an-introduction-to-attachment-and-the-implications-for-learning-and-behaviour.pdf

Foster Care

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department issues guidance to local authorities on how best to make use of unutilized foster carers.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education has not issued guidance to local authorities on how best to make use of unutilised foster carers. Local authorities are required, under section 22G of the Children Act 1989, to take steps that secure, so far as reasonably practicable, sufficient accommodation within the authority's area that meets the needs of children that the local authority is looking after, and whose circumstances are such that it would be consistent with their welfare for them to be provided with accommodation that is in the local authority's area (‘the sufficiency duty').
	Since April 2013 the Department has been working with consortia of local authorities and sector partners to:
	1. develop and test innovative solutions for the recruitment and retention of foster carers
	2. identify gaps in the capacity of the foster carer workforce
	3. develop effective strategies for recruiting and retaining foster carers.
	We will be sharing the lessons learned and disseminating any tools that have been developed during the project more widely following testing.

Free School Meals

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of extending entitlement to free school meals to all claimants of universal credit once universal credit has been fully rolled out.

David Laws: Our broad estimate of extending entitlement to free school meals to all families in receipt of universal credit is that it would cost up to an extra £750 million per year. This is lower than previous estimates because of the implementation of the universal infant free school meals policy from September 2014.

Free School Meals

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make an estimate of the capital costs incurred by schools as a result of the implementation of universal infant free school meals; and whether the capital funding provided by his Department to schools to date covers such costs.

David Laws: The Department for Education consulted with a number of local authorities and schools in the autumn, in order to assess the potential capital needs to meet the new universal infant free school meal (UIFSM) entitlement. Circumstances differ between schools, and between authorities, but those discussions gave us an assessment of the range of likely costs.
	Based on those discussions, we believe the £150 million of capital funding announced last December is an appropriate figure to support schools and authorities in meeting the new UIFSM entitlement. We know that many schools and authorities are still in the process of considering the best way of delivering this. That is why we are supplementing this capital support with the package of implementation support measures announced on 6 March, in order to offer advice and guidance to schools and local authorities that need assistance in implementing the policy.

Free School Meals

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he held with schools and local authorities for the purposes of drafting departmental advice on universal infant free school meals.

David Laws: Since the announcement of universal infant free school meals (UIFSM), departmental officials have engaged in a number of discussions with primary school head teachers and their representatives, local authorities and other interested parties, to explore how this policy can be implemented so that the benefits of universal free school meal provision for children and families are maximised.
	The content of the departmental advice document on universal infant free school meals, which was published on 6 March, was based on feedback gathered through these discussions. Before it was published, the document was commented on by the Department’s UIFSM external reference group, which includes representatives from schools and local authorities.

Free School Meals

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he will announce (a) additional funding for and (b) a help and advice service to schools on universal free school meals.

David Laws: The Chancellor announced in his autumn statement on 5 December that we would be providing over £1 billion of additional revenue funding over the next two financial years, and £150 million of capital funding in 2014-15, to support the introduction of universal infant free school meals.
	On 6 March we published a departmental advice document which sets out further information about the funding available and about the support available to schools. This document is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-infant-free-school-meals
	On 6 March we also launched a support service, which consists of a telephone and online advice service for schools, local authorities and caterers and a direct-support service for schools facing significant challenges. The service is being provided by school food experts, the Children's Food Trust and the Lead Association for Catering in Education, in conjunction with a number of delivery partners. More information is available at:
	http://www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk/Root/schools/schoolfoodplan

Free Schools: Lancashire

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what applications he received from groups in Lancashire to establish a new free school in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education publishes a list of every application received in all the completed application rounds on the gov.uk website.
	Applications received in wave 4 can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-schools-wave-4-application-information
	Applications received in wave 5 can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-schools-wave-5-application-information
	Applications received in 2013 to establish free schools were part of waves 4 and 5. As the published list states, two applications were received from groups in Lancashire in wave 4: Burnley High School and Steiner Academy Lancaster. No applications from groups in Lancashire were received in wave 5.
	Applications received so far in 2014 are part of wave 6. The Department for Education will publish a list of all applications received shortly after the assessment process is complete, in the same way it has for previous rounds.

GCSE: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children received A* to C grades in GCSE (a) mathematics, (b) English, (c) geography and (d) sciences in Brigg and Goole constituency in each year since May 2010.

David Laws: The table gives the number and proportion of pupils who received A*-C grades in GCSE (a) mathematics (b) English (c) geography and (d) sciences in Brigg and Goole constituency in each year since May 2010. Regional and national figures have been included as appropriate comparators.
	
		
			 Achievements at GCSE1 for pupils2 at the end of key stage 4 for Brigg and Goole parliamentary constituency. Years: 2009/10 to 2012/13 (revised)3. Coverage: England4, state-funded schools (including academies and CTCs) 
			   No. of eligible pupils1 No. achieving a grade A*-C in GCSE mathematics %5 achieving an A*-C grade in GCSE mathematics No. achieving a grade A*-C in GCSE English %5 achieving an A*-C grade in GCSE English No. achieving a grade A*-C in GCSE geography %5 achieving an A*-C grade in GCSE geography No. achieving a grade A*-C in GCSE Science6 %5 achieving an A*-C grade in GCSE Science6 
			 2012/13 Brigg and Goole 1,055 773 73.3 753 71.4 250 23.7 642 60.9 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 58,260 40,659 69.8 39,017 67.0 11,207 19.2 31,650 54.3 
			  England4 569,118 406,585 71.4 390,004 68.5 122,252 21.5 330,569 58.1 
			            
			 2011/12 Brigg and Goole 1,051 787 74.9 718 68.3 152 14.5 622 59.2 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 58,520 39,403 67.3 38,063 65.0 9,202 15.7 31,968 54.6 
			  England4 559,076 388,487 69.5 375,015 67.1 99,713 17.8 330,422 59.1 
			            
			 2010/11 Brigg and Goole 1,079 680 63.0 757 70.2 161 14.9 618 57.3 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 59,052 36,063 61.1 38,912 65.9 9,047 15.3 31,906 54.0 
			  England4 564,863 368,922 65.3 392,153 69.4 96,364 17.1 333,682 59.1 
			            
			 2009/10 Brigg and Goole 1,068 686 64.2 705 66.0 121 11.3 644 60.3 
		
	
	
		
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 60,181 35,499 59.0 38,010 63.2 8,821 14.7 33,828 56.2 
			  England4 575,970 360,532 62.6 382,870 66.5 98,098 17.0 346,131 60.1 
			 1 Full GCSEs only have been included (Full GCSEs, double awards, accredited international certificates and their predecessor iGCSEs and AS levels). 2 Pupils at the end of key stage 4 in each academic year. 3 Figures for 2009/10 to 2011/12 are based on final data , figures for 2012/13 are based on revised data. 4 The figures in this table do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. 5 The percentage of pupils achieving each of the subjects is based on the number of eligible pupils at the end of key stage 4 and hence the denominator may include pupils who did not enter the given subject. 6 Science subjects include: applied science, additional applied science, science (core), additional science, environmental and land-based science, biology, chemistry, physics, AQA level 1/level 2 GCSE in science B and AQA level 1/level 2 GCSE in science A. Source: National Pupil Database

Home Education: Lancashire

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children are home-schooled in (a) Lancashire and (b) Rossendale and Darwen constituency.

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested is not held by the Department.

Home Education: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of children who are home-schooled in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) Brigg and Goole constituency.

David Laws: The information requested is not held by the Department.

Mathematics: Teachers

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how the 60 mathematics teachers brought to the UK from Shanghai for an exchange organised by his Department were chosen.

Elizabeth Truss: We launched the maths teacher exchange between England and China in March 2014. The exchange will start in the next academic year. We are in the process of confirming arrangements, including which teachers from Shanghai will participate.

Nurseries

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department's executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies do not provide workplace nurseries for staff.
	The Department's approach to child care support focuses on providing flexibility for staff in arranging child care provision. As part of the overall benefits package, the Department provides a child care voucher scheme to help cover the cost of nursery and pre-school for children under school age and forms of out of school care for school age children. This enables staff with child care responsibilities to be more flexible as to when and where they access child care support.

Ofsted

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education who is responsible for monitoring and approving the use of Government-funded credit cards by employees of Ofsted.

David Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to the hon. Member, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Library.

Ofsted

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what records his Department keeps of use of Government-funded credit cards by employees of Ofsted.

David Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. I have asked Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, to write to the hon. Member. A copy of his response has been placed in the House Library.

Primary Education: Computers

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the current level of teachers’ teaching ability whilst using tablet computers in primary schools.

Elizabeth Truss: The available evidence suggests that teachers adapt quickly to using tablets as a tool for learning.

Primary Education: Surrey

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of education standards in primary schools in Surrey. [R]

David Laws: In Surrey local authority, 89%, 85% and 86% of primary pupils achieved level 4 or above in the reading test, writing teacher assessment and mathematics test respectively. The performance of Surrey is higher than all schools nationally where 86%, 83% and 85% achieved level 4 or above in reading, writing and mathematics respectively.
	This information is published in tables 11 to 16 of the “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2: 2012 to 2013”1 statistical first release. This is available in the “Local authority and regional tables: SFR51/2013” document. This document also contains information on pupil progress.
	1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum -assessments-at-key-stage-2-2012-to-2013

Pupils: Bullying

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people with learning disabilities reported being bullied at school in each year for which figures are available.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not collect information on the number of people with learning difficulties reported being bullied at school.
	The Government are clear that bullying, for whatever reason, is totally unacceptable. All schools are required, by law, to have a behaviour policy with measures to address all forms of bullying including that which occurs online. Schools have the freedom to shape these measures in the context of their particular local circumstances and pupils’ needs. Schools are held closely to account by Ofsted for how well they deal with pupil behaviour and safety, which includes bullying.
	We are also providing £4 million of funding over two years from spring 2013 to four organisations—Beatbullying, the Diana Award, Kidscape and the Anti-bullying Alliance (ABA) with the National Children’s Bureau (NCB)—to develop effective initiatives that prevent and tackle all forms of bullying.
	As part of their funding, the ABA has recently published a guide to cyber-bullying for SEND young people, which contains advice for schools on developing effective anti-bullying practice and we link to this report in our departmental advice on bullying.

Pupils: Bullying

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to reduce absences from school due to bullying.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government have made tackling all forms of bullying a top priority. It is never acceptable for a child to be bullied, victimised or harmed in any way and the Government do not want any young person to be absent from school due to the effects of bullying.
	All schools are required, by law, to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils. Ofsted now holds schools clearly to account for their effectiveness. Under the current Ofsted framework, school inspectors consider pupil behaviour and safety, which includes how well schools prevent bullying, harassment and discrimination.
	In the Education Act 2011, we strengthened teachers' powers to discipline pupils for poor behaviour, including bullying. They can now issue same day detentions, confiscate banned items and search for, and if necessary delete, inappropriate images on mobile phones which might be linked to cyber-bullying.
	We are also providing £4 million of funding over two years from spring 2013 to four organisations:
	Beatbullying;
	the DianaAward;
	Kidscape; and
	the National Children's Bureau
	to develop effective measures in school to prevent and tackle bullying.
	Good schools create a positive ethos with clear expectations about pupil behaviour that prevent bullying from happening in the first place and deal with it quickly if it does occur.
	We recognise the effect that bullying can have, that is why on 17 March 2014 we published a factsheet to help schools identify and support pupils which is available here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying

Schools: Asbestos

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will issue to schools specific guidance on removing asbestos from premises.

David Laws: The guidance from the Health and Safety Executive is that, if asbestos is undamaged and unlikely to be disturbed, then it is usually safer to leave it in place and to manage it as required by the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. If asbestos is found to be in an unsealed, damaged or poor condition, then it should be repaired, sealed, enclosed or removed using trained personnel. The Department for Education has no plans to issue school-specific guidance.

Schools: Finance

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the Statement of 13 March 2014 by the Minister for Schools, Official Report, columns 927-29, how much of the £350 million announced for the fair funding proposals will be allocated from the Exchequer in addition to that already indicated in his Department's budget.

David Laws: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan) on 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 84W.

Schools: Finance

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the statement of 13 March 2014, Official Report, columns 427-29, on school funding, what the (a) total and (b) per-pupil funding for each local authority area will be for 2015-16.

David Laws: I announced on 13 March that in 2015-16, in addition to funding all local authorities at the same cash level per pupil as in 2014-15, we will provide a £350 million boost to the least fairly funded local authorities in the country. We have published a consultation document online, indicating the possible effects of this funding boost on some local authorities:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fairer-schools-funding-2015-to-2016
	We will be able to announce final decisions on per pupil funding for each local authority in 2015-16 after we have considered responses to this consultation, which closes on 30 April. We will be then able to announce the total funding for each local authority in 2015-16 once final pupil numbers are confirmed.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials regularly meet with parliamentarians, including All Party Groups. They provide briefings to groups both in writing and in person, and our embassies overseas assist with visits whenever parliamentarians are travelling on official business.

Bahrain

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the security situation in Bahrain.

Hugh Robertson: We stay in close contact with the Government of Bahrain on the security situation, most recently when the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), met the Bahraini Interior Minister on 24 March. The UK has expressed concern over the recent IED attacks in Bahrain and condemns all acts of violence.

Bahrain

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports his Department has received on breaches of medical neutrality and the supply of medical care for people injured by security forces in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: We expect the Government of Bahrain to meet all their human rights obligations and ensure all patients have access to all the medical care they require.

Bahrain

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the death in custody of Jaffar al Durazi in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: Following the death of Jaffar Mohamed Al Derazi, on 27 February, the Bahrain Public Prosecution Office announced that he died of natural causes, as a result of a sickle cell disease. We understand the Ministry of Interior's ombudsman is launching his own investigation and I await the findings.

Bahrain

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of progress by the Government of Bahrain towards ending torture and abuse of detainees since 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: We welcome the steps the Government have taken to improve accountability, including through the establishment of the Office of the Police Ombudsman and an independent Prisoners' and Detainees' Commission. However, we remain concerned by continuing allegations of mistreatment and torture and encourage the Bahraini Government to carry out thorough and transparent investigations into these allegations.

Bahrain

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the level of medical support given to victims of torture in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: We expect the Government of Bahrain to meet all of their human rights obligations and ensure all defendants have access to all the medical care they require.

Bahrain

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of confessions obtained through torture being used as evidence in terrorism cases in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The British Government consistently and unreservedly condemn torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. We have not received any specific evidence of the use of torture to extract confessions for terrorism cases. We continue to work with the Bahraini authorities to share best practice on torture prevention measures and address allegations of mistreatment.

Bahrain

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the work and methods of the Special Investigation Unit in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: We welcome the establishment of the Special Investigations Unit to determine the accountability of those who have committed unlawful or negligent acts, but we have concerns about the low conviction rates. We encourage the Special Investigations Unit to continue to conduct thorough and transparent investigations into all incidents.

Bahrain

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department has provided to (a) the Office of the Police Ombudsman and (b) the Special Investigation Unit in Bahrain since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: In 2013, we funded Northern Ireland Cooperation Overseas (NICO) work with the Office of the Police Ombudsman on several priority areas. This included sharing UK best practice on complaints procedures, investigation reports and the role of prison inspection. We have built on this work, and since early 2014 we have been supporting NICO to deliver a 15 month package of support to help build the capacity of the Ombudsman's Office, increase accountability and public confidence.

Bahrain

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of reprisals against individuals who raise complaints with the Office of the Police Ombudsman in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: We have not received any reports of reprisals against individuals who raise complaints with the Office of the Police Ombudsman.

China

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on ending the illegal wildlife trade.

Hugo Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised the issue of the illegal wildlife trade during his Strategic Dialogue with Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi at the end of February. The Secretary of State expressed his thanks for the participation of the Chinese delegation in the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade earlier that month, and encouraged China to support the follow-up conference to be held in Botswana in 2015.

Egypt

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise with his Egyptian counterpart the jailing of journalists for legitimate news reporting activities and the case of Mr Hossam Meneai; and if he will make representations calling for Mr Meneai’s release.

Hugh Robertson: The UK is very concerned by the deterioration in freedom of expression in Egypt, and the arrest and charging of several journalists, including Mr Meneai who was released in February. On 6 February, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), made clear the UK’s concerns about the closure of political space and the restrictions on freedom of expression in Egypt, including the arrests of human rights activists and journalists. We are monitoring the journalists’ cases closely and will continue to urge the Egyptian Government to demonstrate they are committed to respecting fundamental human rights, including the right of journalists to operate without fear of prosecution.

Egypt

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take diplomatic steps to respond to reports of violations of human rights and judicial processes in the simultaneous sentencing to death of 529 people in Egypt; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), made a statement on 24 March saying he was ‘deeply concerned' by the reports that 528 individuals were sentenced to death by a court in Al Minya, Egypt. He urged the Egyptian authorities to ensure full respect for defendants' rights, and expressed hope that they would review this unacceptable sentence.

Human Trafficking

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role the UK’s embassies and consulates play in preventing human trafficking in source countries.

Hugo Swire: Britain’s diplomatic missions implement a Human Trafficking Strategy overseas, on behalf of her Majesty’s Government. They work with foreign governments in source and transit countries to build their capacity to disrupt and tackle human trafficking. They support local investigators to increase prosecutions for human trafficking offences and conduct awareness raising projects. They contribute to the UK’s and international efforts to combat trafficking by ensuring that UK interests are effectively represented bilaterally and in multilateral fora including the EU and the UN. Our missions also address the root causes of human trafficking through the Department for International Development’s work in the world’s poorest countries.

Middle East

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the implications on regional security of the announcement by the Israeli Defence Force of the discovery of a tunnel extending 700 metres into Israel from Gaza.

Hugh Robertson: We have not made an assessment of this issue.

Middle East

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of Iran's financial and material support for terrorist groups in the Middle East.

Hugh Robertson: We continue to have serious concerns about Iran's support for groups such as the military wings of Hamas and Hezbollah, armed groups in Iraq, and across the region. There is a significant body of international sanctions which targets such activity, including UN prohibitions on the export of weapons by Iran, that the UK supports. The UK believes that this Iranian activity has a serious destabilising effect on regional security and calls on Iran to respect its international obligations.

Mozambique

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Mozambique on efforts to end violence against women; and what representations he has made on that country's draft criminal code which may allow those accused of sexual violence to avoid prosecution if they marry the victim.

Mark Simmonds: The UK is a strong supporter of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) and is strongly committed to advancing women's rights which Mozambique ratified in 1997. Officials at our high commission in Maputo regularly engage with the Government of Mozambique on the issue of women's rights, including in the context of CEDAW, which we consider to be an essential tool to progress gender equality domestically and internationally.
	We have a number of concerns about the provisions set out in the draft Mozambican Penal Code Review Bill and have raised these at the highest level in the Mozambican Parliament. We understand that draft article 223 (which could have allowed those accused of sexual violence to avoid prosecution if they marry the victims) will not now be included in the legislation proposed to Parliament.

Palestinians

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority about reports that cultural and sporting events in the Palestinian Territories are named after Palestinian terrorists.

Hugh Robertson: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 25 March 2014, Official Report, columns 189-90W.

Palestinians

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority on the publication on Fatah's Facebook page of maps depicting geographic Israel replaced by Palestine.

Hugh Robertson: Our consulate-general to Jerusalem raised the issue of incitement on Fatah's Facebook page with the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on 6 March 2014.

Palestinians

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority on recent comments by the senior Fatah official Ahmed Assaf on Dalal Mughrabi.

Hugh Robertson: We have not raised this issue with the Palestinian Authority.

Qatar

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to ensure that UK companies involved with construction around the Qatari World Cup 2022 provide good conditions of work.

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and the Business Secretary launched the UK's Action Plan on business and human rights in September 2013. It sends a clear message to British companies of our expectation about business behaviour, including those operating overseas. We welcomed Qatar's recently launched Workers Charter, developed with the International Labour Organisation, which seeks to protect the rights of migrant employees. We expect all businesses to comply with the Charter.

Russia

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which G8 sub-groups Russia has been a participant in the last 10 years; and what assessment he has made of the effect on the work of such sub-groups arising from the suspension of Russia from the G8.

David Lidington: There have been numerous G8 working groups over the past 10 years. Russia has participated in all these working groups as a member of the G8.
	No decision has yet been taken on how to proceed with these working groups following Russia’s suspension from the G8.

South Korea

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the South Korean government on monitoring and controlling the South Korean distant water fishing fleet following the formal warning issued to South Korea by the EU about frequent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing violations in west Africa.

George Eustice: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	In accordance with the terms of the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) regulation, responsibility for engaging with third countries that have been identified as not co-operating in the fight against IUU fishing rests solely with the European Commission. While that engagement process is under way, it would not be appropriate for individual member states to make direct approaches to identified countries.

South Sudan

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what diplomatic efforts his Department is making to support the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in bringing both sides of the South Sudanese conflict to the negotiating table and securing a deal for political reform.

Mark Simmonds: The UK is co-ordinating closely with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on the South Sudan peace process, including through the UK Special Envoy to the Peace Talks who has been based in Addis Ababa since January. We have committed $1 million to the IGAD mediation efforts, and have provided technical advice and personnel to the Monitoring Verification Mechanism established by IGAD to monitor the cessation of hostilities.

South Sudan

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the role and influence of South Sudan's neighbouring countries in the conflict in South Sudan.

Mark Simmonds: South Sudan's neighbouring countries have played an important role in calling for parties to show leadership in reaching a political settlement, and to respect the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. Our Special Envoy to South Sudan recently visited Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda to encourage them to continue to push for peace in South Sudan. At the same time, since the outbreak of conflict, we have been clear to all of South Sudan's neighbours that their actions should not contribute in any way to the escalation of violence.

Spain

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the plans of the Spanish Government to grant Spanish citizenship to the descendants of Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in the 15th century; whether he has made representations to the Spanish Government on that matter; and if he will seek assurances about the capability and integrity of the proposed system for establishing eligibility for such grants of citizenship.

David Lidington: I have not received any reports on the Spanish Government's plans to grant citizenship to the descendants of Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in the 15th and 16th centuries, beyond what has been reported in the media. Citizenship policy is a member state competence.

St Petersburg International Economic Forum

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government plan to send representatives to the St Petersburg International Economic Forum; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: We continue to monitor events closely in Ukraine, including Crimea, and are considering carefully any HMG representation at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Ukraine

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the commitment in the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement signed by the EU and the interim Ukraine administration on 21 March 2014 to a political dialogue designed to promote gradual convergence on foreign and security matters with the aim of Ukraine's ever-deeper involvement in the European security area reflects an EU policy objective of Ukraine eventually joining NATO; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: While NATO and the EU play complementary and mutually reinforcing roles in supporting international peace and security, they are separate organisations. There is no connection between the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and NATO membership.
	Ukraine has a long standing relationship with NATO and is a valued contributor to a number of NATO operations. The UK Government continue to support defence reform in Ukraine and hope that its Government will continue to work with NATO in the future.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Lancashire

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been (a) started and (b) completed in (a) Rossendale and (b) Darwen since May 2010.

Kris Hopkins: The Homes and Communities Agency publishes information every six months about the number of affordable housing starts on site and completions for programmes it funds, broken down by local authority. This information can be found here:
	http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/housing-statistics
	These statistics do not include information on any affordable housing that has not been reported to the Homes and Communities Agency, such as some affordable housing funded solely through developer contributions.
	Over 170,000 new affordable homes have been delivered in England since April 2010 (to the end of September 2013). Our Affordable Homes Programme will lever in £19.5 billion of public and private investment over the current spending review period. Over 2015-18, we will be investing a further £23 billion in public and private funding for affordable housing.

Betting Shops

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward legislative proposals to give local authorities powers to restrict the number of betting shops opening in their areas; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Boles: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 4 December 2013, Official Report, columns 741-42W, which outlines the broad advice we give to councils who want to use article 4 powers to tackle localised problems in relation to betting shops.
	The Budget announced the Government's intention of creating a wider ‘retail' use class, excluding betting shops and payday loan shops.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is undertaking a broader review of gambling policy.

Carbon Monoxide: Alarms

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will review the effectiveness of the regulations covering the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in homes.

Stephen Williams: In England, building regulations provide that a carbon monoxide alarm should be installed where a new solid fuel burning appliance is installed. My Department keeps these regulations under constant review through its work with its key partners in industry and its links with the cross Government group on carbon monoxide.
	We are also engaged in a review into property conditions in the private rented sector, this will carefully consider whether landlords of privately rented accommodation should be required to install carbon monoxide alarms in their properties.

Fire Services: Floods

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to impose on fire and rescue services a statutory duty to respond to flooding.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 January 2014, Official Report, column 610-11W.

Fire Services: Northamptonshire

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were employed at Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: To assist the hon. Member, the following table shows staffing strength figures across the last 10 years, alongside the number of incidents attended.
	
		
			  Staffing strength  
			 As of 31 March Wholetime firefighter Retained duty system firefighters Fire Control Non-uniformed Fire incidents 
			 2003-04 311 195 26 6 6,640 
			 2004-05 298 211 23 65 4,743 
			 2005-06 288 192 20 86 4,694 
			 2006-07 287 222 19 83 4,465 
			 2007-08 276 196 17 80 3,808 
			 2008-09 276 243 23 82 3,465 
			 2009-10 269 232 20 93 3,165 
			 2010-11 298 269 24 91 2,746 
			 2011-12 284 191 21 53 2,714 
			 2012-13 279 207 21 63 1,945 
			 Note: Full-time equivalents except for Retained Duty System which are 24 hour units of cover.

Ground Rent

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many rentcharge payers his Department has arranged to receive rentcharge redemption in (a) England, (b) Yorkshire and Humber and (c) Brigg and Goole constituency.

Kris Hopkins: holding answer 20 March 2014
	This information is not centrally held in the form requested.

Ground Rent: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of freehold properties in Greater Manchester subject to chief rents; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many Rentcharge payers his Department has arranged to receive Rentcharge redemption in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Greater Manchester in each of the last five years.

Kris Hopkins: This information is not centrally held in the form requested.

Housing: Construction

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the level of control that local planning authorities are able to exert in ensuring that developers deliver housing on sites identified as part of an authority's five-year supply.

Nicholas Boles: It is for local planning authorities to assess the likely delivery of sites that make up their five year supply. They should update their five year supply annually, and in doing so replace sites that are no longer likely to deliver housing in the five year period with ones that are.
	This Government have introduced a wide ranging package to support stalled house building. These include the Get Britain Building investment fund aiming to unlock new homes on stalled sites, and a £474 million investment fund in local infrastructure for stalled locally-supported, large scale housing sites and commercial development. Our investments to date are helping to bring forward new homes, boosting the construction industry and stimulating economic growth.
	The Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 enables developers with any Section 106 agreement, irrespective of the date of signature, to apply for a review of the affordable housing component to ensure development is not being made unviable by unrealistic requirements. Such unrealistic Section 106 agreements result in no development, no regeneration and no community benefits: a sensible review can result in more housing and more affordable housing. Since September 2013, we have let lapse the temporary measure (introduced by the last Administration) which allowed developers to roll forward their planning permissions; this ending of the measure will increase the incentive for developers to start on site before permission expires. We are also now seeking to tackle the inappropriate use of planning conditions and speed up the process of gaining non-planning consents.
	In addition, we have a comprehensive programme to sell surplus and redundant public sector land and property, freeing up taxpayers' money and providing land for new homes.

Local Government Finance: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was received by Warrington Borough Council in council tax support funding in each year that such support has been available; and what estimate he has made of the amount that council will receive for 2015-16.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 24 February 2014
	The Government provided £3.3 billion to local authorities for localised council tax support in 2013-14 and intend to maintain this level of funding in cash terms in 2014-15 and 2015-16. There is no separately identifiable amount for this support at a local authority level within retained business rates or revenue support grant. Warrington borough council also received £270,363 in transition grant in 2013-14.

Multiple Occupation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many multiple occupancy properties there were in the UK in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  if he will make an assessment of the fire safety of houses converted into multiple occupancy properties;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of how many multiple occupancy properties do not have the correct licence;
	(4)  if he will make an assessment of potential effect on a neighbourhood of houses being converted into multiple occupancy properties;
	(5)  what recent representation he has received on multiple occupancy properties.

Kris Hopkins: The Department collects data based on an evolving annual question to local authorities
	"of how many Houses of Multiple Occupancy are there in your authority"
	to
	"estimate how many Houses of Multiple Occupancy are in your authority".
	The estimated total number of houses of multiple occupancy in England over the last 10 years are:
	
		
			  Estimated number 
			 2003-04 381,361 
			 2004-05 392,230 
			 2005-06 384,622 
			 2006-07 390,315 
			 2007-08 373,002 
			 2008-09 411,964 
			 2009-10 399,560 
			 2010-11 426,834 
			 2011-12 429,065 
			 2012-13 462,693 
			 Sources: 1. 2003-04 to 2010-11: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix. 2. 2011-12 to 2012-13: Local Authority Housing Statistics. 
		
	
	As of 2012-13, 59,441 houses in multiple occupancy were estimated to be mandatory licensable dwellings as defined in section 55(2) (a) of the Housing Act 2004 and Statutory Instrument 371/2006. The Department has not made any estimate of the number that do not have the correct licence.
	There is a statutory duty on local authorities to licence larger higher risk houses of multiple occupation of three or more storeys housing five or more unrelated persons. The mandatory houses of multiple occupation licensing regime addresses poor management practices and aims to secure a reduction in death and injury from fire and other health and safety hazards, and ensures adequate provision of amenities.
	In addition to licensing powers, local authorities are responsible for the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, which provides a risk based evaluation tool for local authorities to identify and protect against potential risks and hazards to health and safety from any deficiencies identified in dwellings. The Housing Act 2004 imposes a duty on local authorities, in partnership with their local Fire Rescue Authority, to take enforcement action against serious (Category 1) hazards. Furthermore, the Building Regulations (Part b) require smoke detection in all new and converted properties.
	Local authorities that are concerned about the number of houses of multiple occupation in their area may issue an Article 4 Direction under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. The effect of issuing an Article 4 Direction is that planning permission must be sought before converting a single use dwelling into a house of multiple occupation.
	The Department does not make any central assessment of the fire safety of houses converted into houses of multiple occupation, their potential effect on local neighbourhoods or their licensing status. These are matters for local authorities to consider when exercising their powers and duties.
	We have not received any recent representations from organisations concerning houses in multiple occupation. However, we have begun a review on conditions in the private rented sector. A discussion paper closed on 28 March 2014 and has elicited responses from a wide range of organisations. These responses will be used to inform the next stage of the review.

New Towns

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what principles and criteria new developments will be required to meet in areas designated as garden cities.

Kris Hopkins: We will be publishing a prospectus on locally-led garden cities in due course.

New Towns

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which organisation and individuals (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have met to discuss the recently announced garden city prospectus; and how many such meetings have been held with each organisation or individual.

Kris Hopkins: Ministers and officials routinely meet a wide range of individuals and organisations on issues relating to housing and planning, including supporting locally-led large scale development. Details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations are available on my Department's website.

New Towns: Ebbsfleet

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what proportion of the Government's proposed Ebbsfleet development will be funded by (a) the private sector and (b) public-sector resources;
	(2)  what plans his Department has for how the new development corporation at Ebbsfleet will work with existing local authorities;
	(3)  when he plans to publish detailed proposals for the new development corporation announced for Ebbsfleet; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how the Government's proposed Ebbsfleet development will be funded;
	(5)  what consultations the Government have undertaken in drawing up plans for their proposed development at Ebbsfleet;
	(6)  what infrastructure his Department has planned and what resources it has allocated in relation to the development of housing at Ebbsfleet.

Kris Hopkins: At this year's Budget, we announced that we would consult on the creation of an Urban Development Corporation to deliver a new Garden City at Ebbsfleet. Discussions with the local authorities and other local partners are already under way, and we will consult formally on the draft order in due course.
	The Government will fund the creation and administration of the Corporation. We will consult with local partners on its precise scope and remit.
	The Budget also announced that up to £200 million funding for infrastructure will be available to support the work. Once established we expect the Corporation to identify funding priorities. Any public funding will be subject to proper value for money considerations.

Non-domestic Rates

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to publish guidance on how local authorities can keep business rates linked to green energy and carbon neutral or passive developments; and what proportion of business rates he expects local authorities to retain.

Brandon Lewis: The business rates retention scheme ensures that authorities keep 50% of business rates income from all properties, including green energy and carbon neutral or passive developments, in their local areas. In addition, the Government have already made regulations to ensure that business rates from new renewable energy projects will be retained in full by the relevant local authorities. The regulations can be found at the following address:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/108/contents/made

Parking

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of the provisions of the Consumer Rights Bill on the provision and management by local authorities of controlled parking zones.

Jennifer Willott: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Unless otherwise excluded, the provisions of Part 1 Chapter 4 (the Services Chapter) of the Consumer Rights Bill will apply to contracts where a trader provides a service to a consumer.
	A motorist who does not comply with the waiting restrictions, or permitted parking conditions if available, in a controlled parking zone will be contravening the applicable traffic regulation order. This would not give rise to a contractual claim under the Services Chapter of the Consumer Rights Bill.
	Parking services may be contractually provided by a trader to a consumer, for example private companies offering parking services near major airports are very likely to be held to be providing them under a contract, and where that is the case the Services Chapter of the Bill would apply.

Wind Power

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many onshore wind farm applications for what wind capacity were received by the Secretary of State in each month in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013; and how many of those applications of what capacity had been recommended for consent by the Planning Inspectorate.

Kris Hopkins: holding answer 25 March 2014
	I can confirm that 47 onshore wind farm appeals were recovered by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government between 2009 and 2013.
	
		
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 January 1 — 1 — 4 
			 February — — — 1 1 
			 March 2 1 2 — 2 
			 April — — — 1 1 
			 May — — 1 — 1 
			 June — 1 1 1 1 
			 July — — 1 — 2 
			 August — — — 3 — 
			 September — 1 1 1 1 
			 October — 1 — 5 3 
			 November — 1 1 — 1 
			 December — — — 2 — 
		
	
	Of these recovered appeals since 2009, I would note that 21 are still in progress; 14 were rejected; eight were allowed as per the Inspector's suggestion. Five were rejected by Ministers taking a different opinion to the inspectors' suggestions; and four were withdrawn.
	All cases pre-date the final published planning practice guidance issued this year by my Department.
	The Department does not hold information on the energy capacity of onshore wind farms subject to a planning appeal.

DEFENCE

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department’s policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

Armed Forces: Complaints

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service complaints submissions of each type were received by the Service Complaints Wing in each year since 2010; how many such complaints were heard at (a) Level 1, (b) Level 2 and (c) Army Board level; what time was taken for each complaint to be completed at each level; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), announced changes to the Service Complaints System on 13 March 2014, Official Report, column 35WS, which should lead to higher proportion of complaints being decided more quickly.
	The following tables show since 2010 the number of service complaints received by the Service Complaints Wing in each year, the number of informal complaints and service complaints at Level 1, Level 2 and Army Board level resolved in each year, and the average time it has taken in days for complaints to be resolved in each year.
	Informal complaints have been included in these statistics and this is the first stage of a complaint. If it cannot be resolved, or an individual does not want to try to resolve their complaint informally, they are entitled to submit a service complaint.
	
		
			 Cases received from 2010 
			 Type of Complaint 2010 2011 2012 2013 20141 
			 Service Complaints2 390 — — — — 
			 Informal — 470 620 870 210 
			 Referred to Level 13 — 150 700 360 150 
			 Referred to Level 2 — 20 50 130 20 
			 Referred to Level 3 — 20 140 20 10 
		
	
	
		
			 Cases Resolved since 2010 
			 Type of Complaint 2010 2011 2012 2013 20141 
			 Redress of Complaint4 30 10 * 10 0 
			 Service Complaints 200 140 40 120 10 
			 Informal — 60 150 270 50 
			 Level 1 — 90 160 360 140 
			 Level 2 — * 10 40 10 
			 Level 3 — 0 * 40 10 
		
	
	
		
			 Average Time in Days to Resolve Complaints since 2010 
			 Level of Complaint 2010 2011 2012 2013 20141 
			 Informal  110 160 210 100 
			 Level 1  120 250 310 240 
			 Level 2  190 310 390 440 
			 Level 3  0 480 630 720 
			 1 Until 20 March 2014. 2 Until 1 January 2008, complaints were managed under single service policies and recorded on JPA as redress of complaints. A tri-Service policy was introduced and from 1 January 2008, JPA was amended to capture service complaints. The current complaints process was revised on 7 June 2010 and introduced the levels. It was not possible to record the entire process i.e. Levels 1, 2 and 3 on JPA until 1 January 2011. Therefore, it has not been possible to provide the full breakdown of information for 2010. 3 Figures shown in this answer for service complaints received at Level 1 may differ from the number published in the Service Complaints Commissioner's Annual Reports as the figures in this answer include any informal complaints which were subsequently raised to Level 1. 4 The previous service complaints and redress of complaints processes did not include the levels currently used, therefore it has not been possible to provide this breakdown for those complaints which were raised and/or resolved in 2010. 
		
	
	In accordance with the Data Protection Act and our obligations in relation to the protection of confidentiality when handling personal data, the figures provided have been rounded to the nearest 10, where ‘*' denotes a number less than, or equal to five. When rounding up number to the nearest 10, numbers ending in ‘5' have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Armed Forces: Complaints

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service complaints were taken to an employment tribunal in each year since 2008; how many such cases were found against his Department; how much compensation was paid as a result of such findings in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Service complainants must have made a valid Service complaint about the same matter, and have not withdrawn it, for the employment tribunal (ET) to be able to consider their complaint. The following table sets out details of ET claims lodged by Service personnel on this basis in each calendar year from 2008.
	
		
			 Calendar year Number of ET claims lodged in year ET claims found against the MOD Total ET award paid (£) 
			 2008 40 2 16,000 
			 2009 23 1 1— 
			 2010 32 1 6,000 
			 2011 25 1 2— 
			 2012 23 2 44,000 
			 2013 27 0 — 
			 1 Withheld. 2 To be decided. Notes: 1. More than one ET claim may be brought by the same individual. 2. The ET judgment and any award may have been made in a different year to the year the ET claim(s) were lodged or the year the associated Service complaint(s) were submitted. 3. Financial data have been withheld in one case where the ET judgment left the amount of the award to be agreed between the parties rather than determined by the ET. The agreed sum is confidential.

Armed Forces: Complaints

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service complaints at each level are still open and unresolved since (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  From 2010 From 2011 From 2012 Total 
			 Level 1 6 43 141 190 
			 Level 2 7 36 71 114 
			 Level 3 13 73 74 165 
			 Total 31 152 286 469 
		
	
	The Ministry of Defence recognises that delays in the Service complaints process can cause unnecessary anxiety to those involved. In addition to the longer-term changes to the role of the Service Complaints Commissioner announced by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) on 13 March 2014, Official Report, columns 35-36WS, all three Services are working hard to reduce the backlog, and to identify how processes can be improved to reduce the time it takes to address Service complaints.

Armed Forces: Complaints

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints have been made in each year of operation of the Service Complaints Commission at each level of representation from (a) women and (b) minority ethnic personnel in each branch of the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Under the current Service complaints systems, complaints can be considered at three levels, but this distinction does not apply to how a complaint is made.
	Data on Service complaints by gender were not recorded until 2012, following a recommendation by the Service Complaints Commissioner in her 2011 annual report. The number of complaints received by each branch of the Services from women in 2012 was as follows:
	Naval Service: 41
	Army: 68
	RAF: 41.
	Data on the number of complaints received by the Services from minority ethnic personnel have not previously been collected, but are being assembled for the 2013 Annual Report which is due to be published shortly.

Armed Forces: Disciplinary Proceedings

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) serving and (b) ex-serving members of each branch of the armed forces were out of time to make an official complaint following their being wrongly disciplined following receipt of a police caution; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: A service complaint must normally relate to an event which happened in the previous three months. As it is no longer the policy to consider administrative action against service personnel who are in receipt of a police caution, all personnel who have been subject to such action in the past would now be out of time. However, the regulations allow for a complaint to be allowed after the end of the three-month period if it is considered just and equitable to do so.

Armed Forces: Disciplinary Proceedings

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to reverse sanctions still having an effect after November 2008 on serving members of each of the armed forces who were disciplined following receipt of a police caution; how many serving members of the armed forces were so involved; and if he will make a statement

Anna Soubry: No steps have been taken to reverse sanctions still having an effect after November 2008. Information on the number of serving personnel affected could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Disciplinary Proceedings

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a Defence Instruction Notice has been circulated detailing the impact of a summary hearing on the Police National Computer; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: A Defence Instruction Notice on this subject has not been issued. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 March 2014, Official Report, column 843W, which gave details of the booklet "Your rights if you are accused of an offence under the Service justice system" provided to everyone who is accused of a service offence.

Armed Forces: Offenders

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made on addressing its wrongful application of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 to the cases of 1,400 individuals; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence is aware of this issue and is exploring a range of potential options.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what pension cost saving has been made from the early termination of employment of armed forces personnel;
	(2)  what advice on pensions has been given to armed forces personnel who are made redundant.

Philip Dunne: The final costs and savings from the armed forces redundancy programme will depend on a number of factors such as the level of natural departures, salary, rank and length of service of the personnel selected. We have made no estimate of the pension cost savings accruing specifically from the redundancy programme, since this is part of broader workforce reductions. We estimate, however, that by 2021-22 we will have achieved cumulative savings of some £23 billion as a result of reductions in service and civilian personnel and greater efficiency in the conduct of non-front line activities.
	Service personnel are provided with clear and accessible information with which to understand their entitlements under the armed forces redundancy and pension schemes, including through the provision of booklets and more detailed information in Joint Service Publications. However, the Ministry of Defence does not provide financial or legal advice, and neither can we take responsibility for individual financial decisions. Personnel who require such advice are directed by their Unit HR staffs to a list of Services Insurance and Investment Advisory Panel (SIIAP) approved independent financial advisers. However, personnel are, of course, free to use the services of any independent financial adviser.

Army: Disciplinary Proceedings

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library any legal advice his Department has received on the legality of the AGAI 67 internal sanctions regime; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Legal advice is not disclosed, as it is subject to legal professional privilege.

Defence Animal Centre

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff were employed at the Defence Animal Centre at Melton Mowbray in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry: The number of staff employed at the Defence Animal Centre in each year since 2010 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Staff Numbers 
			 2010-11 235 
			 2011-12 230 
			 2012-13 225 
			 2013-14 240 
		
	
	The data have been rounded to the nearest five to limit disclosure and ensure confidentiality. The 2013-14 figures reflect a temporary surge in personnel who were recruited on fixed-term contracts and staff numbers are therefore expected to reduce in line with the drawdown of operations in Afghanistan.

Defence Animal Centre

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many animals of what species are currently held in the Defence Animal Centre in Melton Mowbray.

Anna Soubry: As at March 2014 there were around 250 dogs and around 130 horses being held in the Defence Animal Centre.
	The horses will go on to perform ceremonial duties with either the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment or the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery.
	The dogs will go on to perform a variety of roles including protection dogs, patrol dogs, explosions and drug detection dogs, and search dogs.

Dmitry Firtash

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish all contacts between his Department and Mr Dmitry Firtash since May 2010.

Anna Soubry: We are not aware of any contact between the Ministry of Defence and Mr Dmitry Firtash since May 2010.

Internet

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what services his Department provides that are (a) available online only and (b) planned to move to online only.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence provides public-facing services that are digital by default as a general principle but alternative means are provided where a specific user group has particular access requirements. For example, the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency provides alternative means of accessing all its public-facing services.
	There are, however, instances where services are provided exclusively online:
	initial career applications to join the Royal Navy, Army and RAF and related medical questionnaires can only be completed online. These can, however, be completed at the appropriate recruitment offices if required.
	the cancellation or amendment of any UK Defence Standard which is not protectively marked is only notified online.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he or officials of his Department have had with their US counterparts on the annual report of the US Defense Department Office of Test and Evaluation on the F-35 programme.

Philip Dunne: UK officials are embedded within the US Joint Strike Fighter Programme Office and so had full visibility of the US Director Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) report.
	The report is an annual activity, aimed at independently assessing joint strike fighter performance, with DOT&E staff having full access to the programme.
	All of the issues raised in the 2013 report are well-known by Ministry of Defence officials and are being actively managed by the programme.

Military Aid: Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received on the work of military personnel in flood recovery operations.

Mark Francois: Defence personnel have provided and continue to provide invaluable support to the relief efforts. Defence’s contribution peaked at 5,000 personnel—from all three services and the reserves—providing everything from sandbagging to aerial reconnaissance, as well as highly visible reassurance to the public. This contribution to the national effort in response to flooding was at the behest of the respective local authorities.
	As of 21 March 2014, the Ministry of Defence still has 220 personnel committed in the field. They are assigned to support the Environment Agency, inspecting 150,000 flood defence assets across England. This task is expected to be completed by 4 April 2014. The Defence contribution will continue after this through the standard joint regional liaison officer network.

Military Bases

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how his Department is consulted, informed or otherwise involved in the procurement of communications systems and services at US bases in the UK. [R]

Mark Francois: At United States Visiting Forces (USVF) bases in the UK, the USVF operate a number of US communications systems. The USVF are responsible for the procurement of these communications systems and associated services, and liaise with the Ministry of Defence as appropriate.

Public Expenditure

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by how much his Department underspent in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 25 March 2014
	The Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts provide a complete analysis of underspend in each year. The reports are available on the gov.uk website at the following links:
	2010-11:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/27067/mod_ara1011.pdf
	2011-12:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/35009/20121206_mod_annual_report_12.pdf
	2012-13:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222874/MOD_AR13_clean.pdf

RAF Menwith Hill

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) US service personnel, (b) US civilians and contractors, (c) RAF personnel, (d) UK army personnel, (e) UK navy personnel, (f) UK civilians, (g) US military chaplains, (h) UK military chaplains and (i) UK contractors’ personnel were employed at RAF Menwith Hill in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Francois: The number of personnel at RAF Menwith Hill are given in the following table and are current as of 24 March 2014.
	
		
			  Number 
			 US Military 303 
			 US Civilians and Contractors 748 
			 Royal Air Force 3 
			 Army 0 
			 Royal Navy 6 
			 UK Civilians 360 
			 US Military Chaplains 2 
			 UK Military Chaplains 0 
			 UK Contractors 179 
		
	
	The number of police officers are not included in the figure for UK civilians, as the Department does not release the details of police officers at particular locations for security reasons.

Type 26 Frigates

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the timetable is for the introduction of the Type 26 Frigate.

Philip Dunne: The Type 26 Global Combat Ship programme is currently in its assessment phase. As is the standard practice with equipment projects, the build programme will not be set until the main investment decision has been taken, when the design is more mature, which is currently expected towards the end of 2014.

Ukraine

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to retain a permanent British garrison in continental Europe in response to recent events in the Crimea; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Hammond: In the 2010 strategic defence and security review, the Government took the decision to withdraw all forces from Germany by 2020 for reasons explained in that document. Basing all of the UK’s reaction forces together in the Salisbury plain training area allows them to train effectively together ahead of deployments. Retaining forces in Germany—or choosing to base them elsewhere in continental Europe—would not be effective or desirable in optimising force generation and preparedness. Recent events in Ukraine will be taken into consideration as part of the analysis informing the next national security strategy and strategic defence and security review.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2014, Official Report, column 504W, on unmanned air vehicles, in which countries Royal Air Force operators have been trained. [R]

Mark Francois: Royal Air Force Reaper Remotely Piloted Air Systems operators are trained in the UK and the US.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Electronic Government: Petitions

Jake Berry: To ask the Leader of the House how many e-Petitions have led to debates being arranged in the House since their introduction.

Andrew Lansley: Since the launch of the Government e-petitions site, 27 petitions have reached the 100,000 signature threshold making them eligible for consideration for debate. The topics of 22 have been the subject of debate in the House of Commons, most as a direct result of the e-petition. Seven of these debates have taken place in Westminster Hall on a Monday afternoon, in the additional time made available specifically for the consideration of e-petitions.
	Issues raised in e-petitions which have not reached the 100,000 signature threshold have also been debated regularly in the House.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the Government Equalities Office's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

Helen Grant: I refer the hon. Member to the reply from the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude) of 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

Carers

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities 
	(1)  what progress her Department has made on the establishment of regional pilots to test different ways to support carers to remain in work; which regions have been selected to run such pilots; what funding is being made available for such pilots; and when she expects such pilots to begin;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to assist people with caring responsibilities to set up their own small business.

Jennifer Willott: The Government Equalities Office (GEO), the Department of Health, and the Department for Work and Pensions are working together with the Social Care Institute for Excellence to develop five regional pilots to:
	investigate the take-up and use of an assistive technology fund to support carers who are in employment;
	develop the care market for self-funders, to provide services that are outside traditional care services; and
	support carers to set up their own business.
	GEO is providing £40,000 to scope the work, which includes identifying possible locations, key partners and cost options for the pilots, and we anticipate the launch of these pilots in June 2014.

Females

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of trends in the number of women in public life.

Helen Grant: Women are now increasingly represented in public life but there is still more to be done. In 1979, only 3% of Members of Parliament were women; today, 22.6% are women. The 2010 general election also had 877 women candidates, which was a new record and an increase of approximately 22% on the 2005 general election. In addition, 45% of new appointees to public boards between April 2013 and September 2013 were women and the Government have set an aspiration that this figure will be 50% by the end of this Parliament.
	To help ensure greater representation of women in public and political life, the Government have enabled parties to use positive action, should they wish, to increase participation by under-represented groups; extended to 2030 the ability for parties to use women-only shortlists; and secured agreement with the three main parties to collect and publish data on the diversity of their candidates.

Females: Business

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what meetings (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have held with (i) the British Banking Association and (ii) other relevant organisations to discuss access to finance for female entrepreneurs.

Jennifer Willott: Ministers and officials regularly meet with stakeholders, including the British Banking Association (BBA), to discuss access to finance for female entrepreneurs. In 2013, Government and the BBA published a joint report “Banking on Women” on this issue and we continue to work with them to ensure delivery of the recommendations arising from that report.

Older Workers

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what meetings (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have held with (i) Age UK and (ii) the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education to discuss the trialling of new approaches to supporting the skills development of older workers.

Jennifer Willott: Equalities Ministers have chaired roundtable discussions on older workers in July 2012 and in September 2013; both of these meetings involved Age UK and considered skills development. Other participants included Older Women’s Network Europe, National Council of Women, Employers’ Network for Equality and Inclusion, the Age and Employment Network, Carers UK, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Equality and Human Rights Commission and Centrica. Officials also frequently meet with a range of organisations to discuss older workers, including Age UK and the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education.

Older Workers

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities 
	(1)  what progress her Department has made in developing guidance and toolkits for employers on retention practices for older workers;
	(2)  with which organisations and individuals her Department has co-operated on the development of guidance and toolkits for employers on retention practices for older workers.

Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	We intend to build on the existing products available at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/agepositive
	notably ‘Employing older workers: an employer's guide to today's multi-generational workforce' and ‘Employer case studies: employing older workers for an effective multi-generational workforce' published by DWP and the ‘Healthy Ageing Workplaces On-line Toolkit for employers and workplace managers' developed by the Age Action Alliance.
	In order to develop these existing resources further we have approached key stakeholders, including the CBI, TUC, Age UK, Carers UK and many more.
	The Government are committed to publishing a Framework for Action on Extending Working Life later in the spring where we will say more about the development of guidance and toolkits.

Public Expenditure

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the programme budget of the Government Equalities Office was in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14; and what the real terms proportional change was between 2009-10 and 2013-14.

Helen Grant: The programme budgets for the Government Equalities Office from 2009-10 are:
	
		
			 Financial year GEO Programme Budget Allocation (£000) 
			 2009-10 6,161 
			 2010-11 6,993 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 9,100 
			 2012-13 11,000 
			 2013-14 10,704 
		
	
	The real term proportionate variance in budget between 2009-10 and 2013-14 is an increase of 60%.

Public Expenditure

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the staffing budget of the Government Equalities Office was in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14; and what the real terms proportional change was between 2009-10 and 2013-14.

Helen Grant: The staffing budgets for the Government Equalities Office from 2009-10 are:
	
		
			 Financial year GEO Staffing Budget Allocation (£000) 
			 2009-101 9,617 
			 2010-111 9,525 
			 2011-12 7,388 
			 2012-13 8,377 
			 2013-14 6,400 
			 1 The budget for 2009-10 and 2010-11 includes the staffing budget of the Women's National Commission which ceased to exist at the end of 2010. Further decreases to the administration budget have occurred through internal efficiency savings and a reorganisation of the GEO staffing structure. 
		
	
	GEO became a part of DCMS in 2012. This transfer involved the integration of all the corporate and support functions of GEO, including HR, finance, press and communications, ministerial support and strategy and planning, with those teams in DCMS. The administration budget for GEO for 2014-15 (unlike the figure for 2013-14 and previous years) does not include those corporate and support functions and therefore cannot be compared with the budgets from the previous years on a like for like basis.

Public Expenditure

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the staffing budget for the Government Equalities Office is for (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 years.

Helen Grant: The administration budget for the Government Equalities Office (GEO) for 2014-15 is £3.8 million. The budget for 2015-16 has not yet been finalised.
	GEO became a part of DCMS in 2012. This transfer involved the integration of all the corporate and support functions of GEO, including HR, finance, press and communications, ministerial support and strategy and planning, within those teams in DCMS. The administration budget for GEO for 2014-15 (unlike the figure for 2013-14 and previous years) does not include those corporate and support functions and therefore cannot be compared with the budgets from previous years on a like for like basis.

Public Expenditure

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the Government Equalities Office programme budget is for (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Helen Grant: The programme budget for the Government Equalities Office in 2014-15 is £10.6 million. The budget for 2015-16 has not yet been finalised.

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities when she expects to meet each of the recommendations in the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on the Seventh Periodic Report of the UK Government.

Jennifer Willott: Following the examination of the UK's seventh Periodic Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in July 2013, and in accordance with our legally binding obligations under CEDAW, we are obliged to submit to the Committee the following reports on the steps taken to implement their recommendations on:
	i. Abortion laws and services in Northern Ireland by November 2014; and
	ii. Legal Aid and access to justice by November 2015.
	The Government are fully committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and the continued implementation of CEDAW to make the Convention a reality for all women in the UK. We are working with relevant Government Departments, the devolved Administrations and our overseas territories to consider the Committee's recommendations in their most recent concluding observations. The UK's eighth periodic report to the CEDAW Committee is due to be submitted to the Committee in 2017, where we will outline the action we have taken to implement those recommendations.
	In accordance with our obligations under this Convention, we are required to report on the recommendations by 2017 and be examined by the Committee in 2018.

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps the Government have taken to meet each of the recommendations in the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the Seventh Periodic Report of the UK Government; and what progress has been made on each recommendation.

Jennifer Willott: Following the examination of the UK's seventh Periodic Report by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in July 2013 I wrote to all my relevant ministerial colleagues asking them to consider the Committee's recommendations. Departments are taking forward the individual recommendations as appropriate, while my Department will be monitoring progress of implementation on a quarterly basis. In addition we have worked with the Women's Resource Centre and other NGOs to raise awareness of the recommendations and consult on priorities for implementation. In accordance with our obligations under this Convention, we are required to report on the recommendations by 2017 and be examined by the Committee in 2018.

Vocational Guidance

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities if she will publish guidance and make available resources for parents to enable them to help their children make well-informed career and subject choices.

Jennifer Willott: In November 2013, we published the Government’s Women and the Economy Action plan. We announced that the Government Equalities Office (GEO) is developing a toolkit for parents to enable them to support their daughters make well-informed career and subject choices. It is working with the PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) Association and consulting with a range of schools, teenage girls and their parents to develop an online resource that will be piloted later this year. We know that parents are the most important influences of children’s career choices, and the aim of this toolkit will be to offer information, advice and links to further resources to support parents in this vital role.

Women's Business Council

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent members of staff she has allocated to support the work of the Ministerial Taskforce established to implement the recommendations of the Women's Business Council;
	(2)  what meetings (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have held with external organisations or individuals to discuss the work programme of the Ministerial Taskforce established to implement the recommendations of the Women's Business Council;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the achievements to date of the Ministerial Taskforce established to implement the recommendations of the Women's Business Council;
	(4)  how many meetings of the Ministerial Taskforce established to implement the recommendations of the Women's Business Council have been held; on what date each such meeting was held; who attended each such meeting; and how many further meetings she expects will be held in 2014.

Jennifer Willott: Ministers have met twice since June 2013 to oversee delivery of the recommendations for government arising from the Women's Business Council report and to drive progress on the Government's action plan, which was published in November 2013.
	The first meeting of this group was held on 5 September, chaired by the Secretary of State and attended by the Ministers for Women and Equalities, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare, Minister of State for Employment and the Minister of State for Universities and Science. A further meeting was held on 27 November, again chaired by the Secretary of State and attended by the Ministers for Women and Equalities, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare, the Minister of State for Employment, the Minister of State for Care and Support and senior officials representing the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and the Minster of State for Universities and Science. The next meeting of the group is to take place on 3 April, with further meetings likely to be held later this year.
	The secretariat for the ministerial group is provided by officials from the Government Equalities Office as part of their usual duties, supported by officials in other Departments. There are frequent and ongoing discussions involving Ministers and officials from several Government Departments and their external delivery partners to take forward the commitments within the action plan.

CABINET OFFICE

Balance of Payments

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the UK's current account deficit.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated March 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what recent estimate has been made of the UK's current account deficit (193883).
	The current account deficit for Quarter 4 2013 was estimated to be £22.4 billion, which equates to 5.4% of GDP. These estimates were published on 28 March 2014 as part of the Balance of Payments publication and are the latest available.
	Further details on the latest Balance of Payments estimates can be found at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bop/balance-of-payments/q4-and-annual-2013/index.html

Cancer

Andrew Percy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the mortality rate from cancer has been in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and Humber and (c) England in the last 15 years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated March 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the mortality rate for deaths caused by cancer has been in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and The Humber and (c) England in the last 15 years. [193620].
	The most recent figures available are for 2012. Table 1 shows the age-standardised mortality rate where cancer was the underlying cause of death for England, the region of Yorkshire and The Humber and the Brigg and Goole parliamentary constituency from 1998 to 2012 (where available). Rates are not presented for Brigg and Goole before 2001 because the corresponding population estimates are not available.
	The number of deaths registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age, cause, marital status, and place of death are published annually on the National Statistics website at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/mortality-statistics--deaths-registered-in-england-and-wales--series-dr-/index.html
	
		
			 Table 1: Age-standardised mortality rates where cancer was the underlying cause of death, Brigg and Goole parliamentary constituency, Yorkshire and the Humber region and England, deaths registered each year from1,2,3,4,5 1998 to 2012 
			  Brigg and Goole Yorkshire and The Humber England 
			 1998 n/a 203.2 194.5 
			 1999 n/a 198.4 189.4 
			 2000 n/a 190.7 185.8 
			 2001 218.0 194.6 187.6 
			 2002 201.7 197.5 186.9 
			 2003 183.2 192.8 183.1 
			 2004 189.1 188.0 179.7 
			 2005 165.8 184.6 177.4 
			 2006 190.9 183.0 176.0 
			 2007 205.5 184.8 174.3 
			 2008 188.2 181.4 172.6 
			 2009 176.6 178.4 169.5 
			 2010 159.8 176.6 167.6 
			 2011 165.5 177.6 166.7 
			 2012 163.4 175.4 165.6 
			 n/a = Not available. 1 Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the 1976 European Standard Population (ESP). Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages. For more information on ESP, see the ONS website: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/health-and-life-events/revised-european-standard-population-2013--2013-esp-/index.html 2 Underlying cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00 to C97 for the period 2001 to 2012, and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 140 to 208 for the period 1998 to 2000. 3 Figures are based on deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in the years 1998 to 2012. Further information on registration delays for a range of causes can be found on the ONS website: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/health-and-life-events/impact-of-registration-delays-on-mortality-statistics/index.html 4 Figures exclude deaths of non-residents. 5 Figures are based on boundaries as of February 2014.

Debts

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the value of unsecured debt owed by individuals in each income decile in each year since 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated March 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what estimate he has made of the value of unsecured debt owed by individuals in each income decile in each year since 2010 (193861).
	The Office for National Statistics does collect information on unsecured debt owed by households and individuals from the Wealth and Assets Survey; a longitudinal study of the economic circumstances of households in Great Britain. However, currently only data pertaining to the first two waves of the survey (2006/08 and 2008/10) are available. The main findings from the survey for the period 2010/12 will be published in May 2014. Furthermore, 2010/12 was the first period that full income data were collected on the survey. These data require further quality assurance and will not be available until June/July 2014. It is not possible to look at unsecured debt by income decile for the previous two waves which have been published.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2013, Official Report, columns 291-2W, on the Electoral Register, whether the information on how many (a) UK- and (b)  foreign-born citizens over the age of 18 and qualified to vote in UK parliamentary elections in each English and Welsh parliamentary constituency is now available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker, dated March 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the information on how many (a) UK- and (b) foreign-born citizens over the age of 18 and qualified to vote in UK parliamentary elections in each English and Welsh parliamentary constituency is now available. (193803)
	The 2011 Census did not collect information about citizenship although passports held and countries of birth were collected and can be used as a proxy.
	The specially commissioned table (CT0240) includes the following three categories of those who are eligible to vote in UK Parliamentary elections:
	Born in UK;
	Commonwealth citizens that are resident in the UK, and either have leave to enter or remain in the UK or not require such leave. It also includes citizens of British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories.
	Born elsewhere but with a British passport.
	A copy of the table will be placed in the Library of the House.

Government Departments: Internet

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to incentivise departmental officials to bring old Government data sets online in accessible formats.

Francis Maude: The UK has been recognised as the international leader in data transparency. During our presidency of the G8 in 2013 we led Members to commit to publishing data openly by default as a matter of principle through the Open Data Charter.
	Departments are engaging the public and special interest groups about the most important data held by Government (whether old or new); publishing open data strategies and reporting to Parliament on progress on a quarterly basis.
	Those data sets that are judged to have the most significant economic and social impact we refer to as the national information infrastructure, and are our priority for making available and accessible.

Government Procurement Service

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will take steps to encourage the Government Procurement Service to adopt (a) UN Global Compact and (b) ILO standards; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: This Government's procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project.
	The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires commissioners to consider the economic, environmental and social benefits of their approaches to procurement before the process starts, at the pre-procurement stage.
	Wider socio-economic criteria can be taken into account at tender evaluation stage if they relate directly to the subject matter of a contract from the point of view of the contracting authority.

Minimum Wage

John Denham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the annual survey of hours and earnings published on 12 December 2013, if he will estimate the number and proportion of (a) men and (b) women in (i) full-time and (ii) part-time work in each (A) local authority area and (B) parliamentary constituency earning the national minimum wage in April 2013 defined as (1) adults aged 21 years and over earning less than £6.24, (2) youths (aged 18 to 20) earning less than £5.03 and (3) 16 to 17 year olds earning less than £3.73.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated March 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the annual survey of hours and earnings, published on 12 December 2013, if he will estimate the number and proportion of (a) men and (b) women in (i) full-time and (ii) part-time work in each (A) local authority area and(B) parliamentary constituency earning the national minimum wage in April 2013 defined as (1) adults aged 21 years and over earning less than £6.24, (2) youths (aged 18 to 20) earning less than £5.03 and (3) 16 to 17 year olds earning less than £3.73. (193516)
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Hourly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. However, estimates for the number and proportion of national minimum wage jobs at the sub-Regional geographies defined above are not available from ASHE for reasons of quality.
	Related information is available in the National Minimum Wage Low Pay Commission Report 2014, which contains some estimates for minimum wage jobs, as defined above, by Regions, gender and full-time/part-time:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/288841/The_National_Minimum_Wage_ LPC_Report_2014.pdf

Ovarian Cancer: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of women in Brigg and Goole constituency were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated March 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of women in Brigg and Goole constituency were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in each of the last five years [193908].
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2011. Table 1 provides the number of (a) newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancer, and (b) the proportion (per cent) of the female population with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, for the years 2007 to 2011, for women in Brigg and Goole parliamentary constituency.
	The latest published figures on cancer incidence for England are available in the following link:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/cancer-statistics-registrations--england--series-mb1-/index.html
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancer and the percentage of the female population with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, Brigg and Goole parliamentary constituency 2007 to 20111, 2, 3, 4 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Brigg and Goole 13 8 10 9 14 
			 Percentage of Brigg and Goole Female population diagnosed 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03 
			 1 Cancer of the ovary is coded as C56 (Malignant neoplasm of ovary), according to the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10). 2 Cancer incidence figures are based on newly diagnosed cases registered in each calendar year. 3 Figures are based on boundaries correct as at February 2014 and exclude non-residents. 4 Percentages are calculated using mid-year population estimates for Brigg and Goole parliamentary constituency. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Personal Savings

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the average personal savings in each year from 2010 to 2013.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated March 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the average personal savings in each year from 2010 to 2013 (193745).
	The Office for National Statistics does collect information on the personal savings of households and individuals from the Wealth and Assets Survey; a longitudinal study of the economic circumstances of households in Great Britain. However, currently only data pertaining to the first two waves of the survey (2006/08 and 2008/10) are available. The main findings for the period 2010/12 will be published in May 2014.
	Table 1 below presents gross financial wealth for eligible adults for the years 2006/08 and 2008/10.
	
		
			 Table 1: Estimated gross financial wealth1 of individuals2: Great Britain, 2006/08 and 2008/103 
			  Median (£) 
			 2006/08 2,200 
			 2008/10 3,000 
			 1 Gross financial wealth for individuals includes any formal financial assets held such as: current accounts in credit, savings accounts, ISAs, fixed-term investment bonds, unit trusts, shares, saving bonds and gilts, life insurance; plus any informal financial assets such as monies either loaned or saved with friends and family. It does not include endowments associated with a mortgage as this is only collected at a household level. 2 Includes eligible adults only i.e. those over the age of 16 and not in full-time education. 3 The distribution of wealth is highly skewed. Therefore, the median is a better measure of average. The mean, which provides the arithmetic average, is likely to be influenced by high values so it does not reflect the experience of most individuals and is therefore not presented within the table. Note: The figures quoted are estimates and are based on a responding sample of 54,951 individuals at wave one and 36,218 at wave two. Source: Wealth and Assets Survey, Office for National Statistics.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department has made an assessment of the level of risk experienced by female human rights defenders in Afghanistan; and what arrangements are in place to support their work and create a safer environment.

Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East (Mr Brown), on 17 March 2014, Official Report, column 398W.

Africa

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what commitments the UK has to support people with learning disabilities in Africa.

Lynne Featherstone: Learning difficulties are just one of many different types of disability that DFID supports through its overseas programmes. The UK does not have a separate commitment around this.
	For example, as highlighted in the recent DFID education position paper, DFID is committed to ensuring that all children are able to complete a full cycle of quality education and is increasingly focusing on the most marginalised, including those children with disabilities. For example, in Zimbabwe, through UNICEF, DFID is supporting 32 special schools nationwide to provide technical equipment for visual and hearing impaired, physically and mentally challenged and children with speech and language difficulties. In Ethiopia, through the General Education Quality Improvement Programme, DFID provides larger grants to schools which have a higher percentage of children with special educational needs.

Developing Countries: Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the contribution of the Prime Minister of 19 March 2014, Official Report, column 781, what steps her Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take in the next six months to ensure that UK aid is not used to facilitate or procure gender-based abortions; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK Government do not promote or support abortion on the grounds of gender alone. Our work on girls' education, women's empowerment, skills and jobs aims to increase the ‘value' of girls and women in society and therefore tackle the pressures and incentives that drive preferences for male children.
	In 1994 over 180 states including the UK, signed the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, agreeing to “eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child”. To this end, we support and will continue to support Governments' efforts to prevent sex selective abortion. We do this through our own reproductive health programmes, and through key partners such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),

Developing Countries: Forests

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2014, Official Report, columns 187-88W on developing countries: forests, in which of her Department's sponsored projects afforestation is used to minimise the risk of flooding.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID does not fund any projects which have a primary aim of using afforestation to minimise the risk of flooding.
	Some DFID projects involve afforestation that may have a secondary effect of minimising flooding. For example, DFID is supporting upland communities in Nepal to reforest slopes above their villages. This provides important benefits to local livelihoods and also reduces the risks of flooding and landslides.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the World Health Organisation and United Nations Children's Fund report entitled Integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea; and whether she intends to take the steps recommended in this report to support integrated healthcare solutions, incorporating water, sanitation and hygiene strategies.

Lynne Featherstone: The report outlines a clear action plan for preventing and controlling pneumonia and diarrhoea. The UK's approach is in line with this plan. Overall the UK provides £1 billion in bilateral health aid. This supports targeted, cost-effective interventions, delivered through strengthened, more efficient and effective health systems in a total of 34 countries. In addition the UK aims to tackle the broader determinants of health such as water, sanitation, hygiene and nutrition. DFID has a target to reach 60 million people with water, sanitation and hygiene interventions by December 2015, recognising that the benefits from these are multiplied when delivered through an integrated approach.

Palestinians

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what processes are in place to ensure that (a) individuals and (b) non-governmental organisations in the Palestinian Territories receiving UK aid payments are not associated with terrorist organisations.

Alan Duncan: There are comprehensive safeguards in place to ensure UK money is not used to benefit terrorist organisations, either directly or indirectly. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories we work with trusted partners including the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which regularly checks staff names, suppliers and other payees against a recognised database of names of persons listed as being associated with terrorist organisations. All our partners commit to taking appropriate steps to ensure that the funds we provide are not used to provide assistance to, or otherwise support, terrorists or terrorist organisations, in full compliance with UK and EU anti-terror legislation.

Palestinians

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  whether any Palestinian Authority civil servant has been refused UK aid payments on the grounds of links with terrorist organisations;
	(2)  what processes are in place to ensure Palestinian Authority civil servants in receipt of UK aid payments are not associated with terrorist organisations and have no previous record of terror offences.

Alan Duncan: The UK only supports salaries of Palestinian civil servants on the EU's list of vetted beneficiaries who meet strict eligibility criteria and are not linked to terrorist organisations. Recipients are taken from an EU list of eligible civil servants. The EU regularly checks all names on the list against a recognised database of persons listed as being associated with terrorist organisations.

South Sudan

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Jonglei and the Upper Nile in South Sudan; and what steps she is taking to support those who are being displaced or affected by the conflict.

Lynne Featherstone: The humanitarian situation in South Sudan remains extremely serious. There are rising humanitarian needs, but access constraints, including active hostilities, continue to hamper the humanitarian response in some areas. DFID has provided direct funding to NGOs operating in Upper Nile and Jonglei states, to provide shelter, water and sanitation facilities and emergency medical care; and also funded emergency logistics to airlift aid works and humanitarian supplies to those in need across the country. The World Food Programme has started airdrops of food supplies this week to both Jonglei and Upper Nile states, in sites with high concentrations of people.
	The UK has so far committed £12.5 million of new funding to the response since December 2013, and redirected £19 million of earlier commitments to be reprioritised to the crisis. We are reviewing with the humanitarian country team and donors on the ground how to best reach and support the displaced populations, particularly in difficult to reach areas and within the current security context.

Special Olympics

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department has given to Special Olympic projects in the last five years.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID has not provided support for any special Olympic projects in the last five years.

West Africa

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to improve the capacity of governments and civil society in the west African coastal region to reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and protect local artisanal fishing.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID supports the International Partnership for African Fisheries Governance and Trade (PAF), a programme led by the African Union. It aims to improve how fisheries are managed throughout Africa and to tackle problems such as illegal fishing.
	The programme has helped to set up the ‘Stop Illegal Fishing’ (SIF) initiative. The SIF website is now a major source of information and news used by African countries on the issue. One of the activities SIF has supported in West Africa has been to work with the fishing industry in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone to develop a regional agreement against illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government are taking to support (a) creative, (b) film, (c) music and (d) video games industries.

Edward Vaizey: Government are committed to working with the creative industries, primarily through the Creative Industries Council, to further boost their economic worth. Examples of support include creative content tax reliefs: last year Government introduced new tax reliefs for the animation and high end TV production sectors, a tax relief to support video games production will be introduced pending EU state aid clearance. At autumn statement 2013 the Government also announced a package of changes to the existing Film Tax Relief to support the sector and its cultural and economic contribution, subject to state aid approval.
	Specific Government initiatives for the music industry include the £2.5 million Music Export Growth Scheme, announced in September 2013 and funded by UKTI.
	Government also support the creative sectors through funding for arm’s length bodies including the Sector Skills Councils, the BFI and the Arts Council of England. For example, Government are providing an additional £16 million in 2013-14 and 2014-15 for Creative Skillset to match fund skills initiatives in the film, television, animation, visual effects and video games sectors. The Arts Council is providing funding to the music industry through a range of programmes, including the £500,000 Momentum Music Fund which helps sustain and develop the careers of talented emerging artists and bands. In total, the Arts Council will invest around £70 million a year in music organisations up until 2015.

Betting Shops

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on changes to planning regulations relating to betting shops and changes of use for business premises; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: The Government are undertaking a policy review of gambling, which will report before Easter. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and I have consulted with Ministers from a number of different Departments as part of this review.

Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the Government plan to ratify the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

Edward Vaizey: The UK Government are currently considering the recently published Impact Review on the 2001 UNESCO Convention and a decision on whether we should review our position will then be made.

Cycling

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding her Department makes available to allow non-elite disabled cyclists to acquire specialist sporting equipment.

Helen Grant: Sport England's Get Equipped fund is investing £1.1 million into 141 community sports clubs to provide specialist sports equipment for disabled people. This includes £107,490 invested into specialist cycling equipment across 12 projects.

Direct Selling

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she plans to respond to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's fourth report of Session 2013-14 on Nuisance Calls, HC 636.

Edward Vaizey: We will shortly provide a substantive response to the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Select Committee's recommendations and conclusions, which were set out in their report of 5 December 2013.

Football

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will hold the first meeting of the working party to discuss the future of football governance; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: A proposal from Supporters Direct for an expert group on supporter ownership in football is under consideration by Government and the football authorities, including terms of reference and timeframes of any resulting work in the area.

Football

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Government departments will be represented on the working party to discuss the future of football governance; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: All aspects of a potential expert group on supporter ownership in football are under consideration, including suitable Government representation on the group.

Gaming Machines

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made on her Department's reviews of regulation of fixed odds betting terminals; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: The Government are undertaking a policy review of gambling, which is considering the regulation of category B2 gaming machines. This will report before Easter.

Public Libraries

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on support for community-run libraries.

Edward Vaizey: No guidance has been issued by the Department, however, the Arts Council England and the Local Government Association publication ‘Community Libraries research Learning from experience: guiding principles for local authorities' (January 2013) identified factors which local authorities might find helpful when considering how best to design and manage their own library services. In addition, Locality, a registered charity that receives funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government, provides an online platform and resource for the community library network, bringing together advice and guidance, peer networking and access to a range of resources and remote support.

Religious Broadcasting

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the BBC Trust on the BBC's exercise of its responsibilities to provide religious broadcasting.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State has had no discussions with the BBC Trust about religious broadcasting. Under the terms of its Charter and Agreement the BBC is operationally and editorially independent of Government.

Special Olympics Great Britain

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding Special Olympics Great Britain has received from her Department in each of the last five years.

Helen Grant: Special Olympics Great Britain (SOGB) received the following sums from Sport England during the past five years
	
		
			  Award (£) Programme 
			 2009 200,000 Investment in the 2009 Special Olympic summer games 
			 2011 225,000 Joint investment in SOGB and Mencap for 2011 to 2013 period 
			 2013 191,000 Additional funding for SOGB to deliver 2013 summer games

Sports: Learning Disability

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what provisions are in place as part of the Government's Olympic Legacy commitments for people with learning disabilities.

Helen Grant: A key part of the legacy from London 2012 is securing lasting benefits for disabled people, and this includes people with learning disabilities. The key aims of the legacy for disabled people were set out in “London 2012: a Legacy for Disabled People”, a report published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Office for Disability Issues in April 2011, which outlined the key legacy opportunities from the Olympic and Paralympic games for disabled people. These key aims were to:
	support opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity;
	promote community engagement through the games;
	transform the perception of disabled people in society.
	Sport England have provided funding to Mencap Sport/Special Olympics GB to help them support and guide governing bodies as they create opportunities for people with learning disabilities, and to help deliver the Special Olympics summer games. 42 out of 46 National Governing Bodies funded by Sport England have specific targets for the participation of disabled people.
	The recently launched campaign to secure a physical activity legacy from the games, “Moving More, Living More” aims to promote physical activity for all, and specifically highlights the importance of interventions and opportunities to help disabled people become more active.
	The Paralympic Legacy Advisory Group has been established by Government and the Mayor of London to bring fresh insight, challenge and new ideas to ensure that the legacy for all disabled people is as strong as possible. This group is made up of representatives from disabled people's user-led organisations, leading disability charities, Paralympians, broadcasters and business.

Tourism

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she plans to take to promote tourism in (a) North Yorkshire and (b) the UK.

Helen Grant: This Government are doing much to promote tourism in both North Yorkshire and the UK as a whole. North Yorkshire will benefit from a number of thematic campaigns currently being run by VisitEngland which can be found at
	http://www.visitengland.com/
	North Yorkshire will also feature in VisitBritain's forthcoming Countryside is GREAT campaign.
	For the UK as a whole, VisitEngland's Holidays at Home are GREAT campaign, has been launched and will be shown on mainstream terrestrial channels from 1 April 2014. The GREAT campaign, led by VisitBritain, showcases the very best of what Britain has to offer in order to encourage the world to visit, study and do business with the UK. VisitBritain also do a number of specific and bespoke campaigns to encourage overseas visitors to the UK. These can be found at
	http://www.visitbritain.com/en/EN/

TREASURY

Annuities

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the changes announced in the 2014 Budget Statement on the price of annuities; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: At Budget, the Government announced significant reforms to the pensions market, giving people greater choice about how to access their defined contribution pension savings. The Government expect the change to the pensions market to stimulate innovation and new competition in the retirement income market. This new flexibility will help consumers choosing to buy an annuity to get a better deal in a much more competitive market place.
	The shape of the market will be driven by the choices consumers make, placing power back into the hands of savers. As retirement changes, many people may opt to buy an annuity later in life, allowing them to benefit from higher annuity rates or at a time that better suits their individual circumstances.
	The Government are currently consulting on these reforms, and intends to respond to the consultation before the summer recess.

Annuities

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to protect those who wish to take out an annuity against a significant deterioration in the annuity market reducing the pool of resources and both raising the cost of annuities and reducing their rate of return.

David Gauke: At Budget, the Government announced significant reforms to the pensions market, giving people greater choice about how to access their defined contribution pension savings. For many people, purchasing an annuity will remain the best way to secure an income in retirement.
	Rather, the new flexibility will help consumers choosing to buy an annuity to get a better deal in a much more competitive market place. The Government expect the change to the pensions market to stimulate innovation and new competition in the retirement income market. The shape of the market will now be driven by the choices consumers make, placing power back into the hands of savers.
	As retirement changes, many people may, for example, opt to buy an annuity later in life, allowing them to benefit from higher annuity rates or at a time that better suits their individual circumstances.

Assets: Russia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the value of Russian financial assets held in the UK;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the value of UK financial assets held in Russia.

Sajid Javid: Consolidated external claims and unused commitments of UK-owned monetary financial institutions (excluding central bank) and their branches and subsidiaries worldwide are available from the Bank of England website,
	www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/Documents/bankstats/current/tabc4.2.xls
	External business of monetary financial institutions operating in the UK are also available, from
	www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/Documents/bankstats/current/tabc3.2.xls
	These include data about the UK financial sector's claims on and liabilities to Russia. No equivalent official data is available for Russian firms' assets and liabilities in respect of the UK.

Aviation

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the amount allocated to the regional air connectivity fund in line 37 of Table 2.1 of Budget 2014 is £10 million per annum and the increase in funding listed at paragraph 2.42 for that fund is £20 million per annum.

Nicky Morgan: The Government announced a £10 million per annum regional air connectivity fund at the 2013 spending round. At the Budget the Government increased this by £10 million per annum to double the size of the fund to £20 million per annum.

Aviation: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on extending the scope of the existing Regional Air Connectivity Fund.

Danny Alexander: We announced in the Budget that the Regional Air Connectivity Fund will be increased to £20 million per year, and extended to include the provision of start-up aid for new routes from regional airports. This support will be available to airports in Scotland as well as the rest of the UK.
	As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all meetings and discussions. But I regularly meet with the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth to discuss matters that are relevant to Scotland.

Children: Day Care

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what provision he has made in funding for the tax-free child care scheme beyond 2015 for increased take up from child care resulting from maternal employment.

Nicky Morgan: Information on the behavioural effects accounted for in the expenditure of tax-free child care can be found in the Budget 2014 policy costings document:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293740/PU1638_policy_costings_ budget_2014.pd

Children: Day Care

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he had with Atos and employers providing workplace-based child care before the announcement of his policy on tax relief for child care.

Nicky Morgan: As part of the process of policy development Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of stakeholders.
	As was the practice with the previous Administration, the Government do not disclose the details of these meetings.

Children: Day Care

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the effects of the introduction of tax relief on child care on existing employer-provided child care schemes in each of the next four financial years.

Nicky Morgan: Delivering tax-free child care: the Government’s response to the consultation on design and operation confirmed that employer-supported child care (child care vouchers and directly-contracted child care) will be closed to new entrants when tax-free child care is introduced. Parents who already receive support through that scheme will be able to continue receiving support for as long as they continue to be employed by their current employer, and the employer continues to offer the scheme. Workplace nurseries will not be affected by the changes.
	The document can be viewed at:
	www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tax-free-childcare

Children: Day Care

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the administration costs of the introduction of tax relief on child care in each of the next four financial years.

Nicky Morgan: Information on how the cost of managing child care accounts in tax-free child care can be found in the Budget 2014 policy costings document, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293740/PU1638_policy_costings _budget_2014.pdf

Coinage

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment has made of the overall cost to the economy of conversion to the new £1 coin;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the cost to the vending sector of converting all vending machines to accept the new £1 coin;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the cost to the gaming industry of converting all video games machines, slot machines and other arcade machines to accept the new £1 coin;
	(4)  if he will make funding available to help the (a) retail sector, (b) gaming industry and (c) vending machine operators meet the cost of the introduction of the new £1 coin;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the cost to the telecommunications industry of converting all telephone boxes to accept the new £1 coin; and if he will make funding available to this industry to help meet such costs;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of the cost to (a) local authorities and (b) other parking operators of converting all ticket machines and meters to accept the new £1 coin; and if he will make funding available to help meet such costs;
	(7)  what assessment he has made of the cost to the retail sector of converting all shopping trolley anti-theft guards to accept the new £1 coin.

Nicky Morgan: The Budget announced that the existing £1 coin will be replaced with a more modern and secure design. After 30 years in circulation, the current coin has become vulnerable to counterfeiting.
	There will be a public consultation this summer that will focus on how to manage impacts on industry and other affected parties. The Government are committed to working with these organisations to minimise costs and disruption.
	The Government plan for the new coin to be introduced in 2017. This timeline was decided expressly to allow industry three years to plan for the change.

Coinage

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultation process is being held on the new £1 coin; and what steps he is taking to ensure that such a consultation includes representation from all parts of the country, charities and other non-industry groups.

Nicky Morgan: The Budget announced that the Government will introduce a new, highly secure £1 coin.
	The Treasury will undertake a public consultation in the summer focusing on managing impacts on industry and other affected parties. The consultation will be open to views from all parts of the country and all stakeholders. More details of the consultation process will be published in due course.

Credit Unions

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many credit unions were operating in the UK in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

Sajid Javid: The Government do not hold information on the numbers of credit unions operating in the UK. The data are held by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Currencies

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to support the development of virtual currency exchanges in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: The Government are working with the broader financial technology industry to identify the barriers to entry and growth that financial technology businesses in the UK experience and to identify potential ways for lowering them. Virtual currency exchanges have been involved in this work.

Currencies

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the risk of virtual currencies facilitating money laundering and other financial offences.

Sajid Javid: We are engaging with law enforcement and others across Whitehall to assess the exact nature of financial crime risks posed by virtual currencies. We are also working with international bodies on the issue, such as the Financial Action Task Force.

Financial Services

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what regulatory standards he plans to put in place to ensure people have access to high quality financial advice.

Sajid Javid: At Budget 2014, the Government announcement that all those retiring with a defined contribution pension pot will be offered free and impartial face-to-face guidance at the point of retirement.
	The Government have asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), working closely with the Pensions Regulator and the Department for Work and Pensions, to co-ordinate the development of robust standards for this guidance and a framework for monitoring compliance. In developing these standards the FCA will work in partnership with consumer groups, the Pensions Advisory Service, and the Money Advice Service.
	The Government are now consulting on how this guarantee is best delivered through its consultation document, ‘Freedom and Choice in Pensions', available here:
	www.gov.uk/government/consultations/freedom-and-choice-in-pensions

Gift Aid

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much gift aid was reclaimed by charities in (a) 2009 and (b) 2013.

Nicky Morgan: HMRC publishes data on repayments of gift aid to charities in table 10.1 of its National Statistics at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/256802/table10-1.pdf

Housing: Taxation

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether flats will be liable for the possible introduction of a levy on higher value homes.

David Gauke: The Government do not intend to introduce a new levy on higher value homes.

Income Tax

Gordon Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish, using the 2011-12 data for higher rate taxpayers, how many and what proportion of the taxpaying population were in each taxpaying category in each region and nation of the UK; and what tax receipts accrued to the Exchequer from each such group in the last year for which data are available.

David Gauke: The information is given in the following table.
	
		
			 Income tax liabilities of higher and additional rate taxpayers, by region and country, 2011-12 
			  Total Income 
			 Region Number of taxpayers (thousands) Proportion of all taxpayers (percentage) Total amount of tax (£) 
			 Taxpayers liable at higher rate (excluding additional rate taxpayers)   
			 United Kingdom 3,570 11.6 54,400 
			 England 3,090 10.0 47,390 
			 North East 93 0.3 1,310 
			 North West 301 1.0 4,310 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 207 0.7 2,980 
			 East Midlands 208 0.7 3,060 
			 West Midlands 235 0.8 3,410 
			 East 394 1.3 6,060 
			 London 685 2.2 11,200 
			 South East 696 2.3 11,100 
			 South West 271 0.9 3,960 
			 Wales 105 0.3 1,460 
			 Scotland 281 0.9 4,100 
			 Northern Ireland 55 0.2 786 
			     
			 Taxpayers liable at additional rate   
			 United Kingdom 262 0.9 37,500 
			 England 237 0.8 34,240 
			 North East 3 0.0 330 
			 North West 13 0.0 1,690 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 9 0.0 1,070 
			 East Midlands 10 0.0 1,040 
			 West Midlands 11 0.0 1,210 
			 East 31 0.1 3,810 
			 London 88 0.3 15,500 
			 South East 59 0.2 8,110 
			 South West 13 0.0 1,480 
			 Wales 3 0.0 302 
			 Scotland 13 0.0 1,520 
			 Northern Ireland 2 0.0 253 
			 Note: Incomes are allocated to regions and countries according to the residence of the recipient. The postcode has been used to determine the county and hence the region for the overwhelming majority of cases. Some members of the Forces and Merchant Navy, together with a small number of people serving overseas and people with overseas addresses have not been allocated to regions, but have been included in the UK figures. There are also a small number of people in the sample where it was not possible to identify their postcode and therefore identify the correct region. These have also been included in the UK figures. This explains why the regional amounts do not add up to the UK total. Source: Survey of Personal Incomes 2011-12

Insolvency: Civil Proceedings

John Glen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of how much will be collected annually by HM Revenue and Customs through successful insolvency litigation with the use of damages-based agreements.

David Gauke: No estimate of the amount that will be collected annually under these agreements has been made.

Insolvency: Civil Proceedings

John Glen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual cost to HM Revenue and Customs of the reforms to insolvency litigation under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

David Gauke: No estimate of the annual cost to HM Revenue and Customs has been made.

Insolvency: Civil Proceedings

John Glen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs collected following successful insolvency litigation cases in each year since 2010.

David Gauke: HMRC does not define whether insolvency litigation is a success or not purely in terms of what is collected. There are a number of other reasons for embarking on such action, for instance compliance and the protection of other creditors. HMRC does not hold information in the format requested.

Investment Trusts

John Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government have taken to ensure that investment trusts are excluded from legislation on packaged retail investment products presently being considered by the European Parliament.

Sajid Javid: The Packaged Retail Investment Products (PRiPs) Regulation will create a standardised disclosure document, called a Key Information Document, that will apply to all PRIPs manufactured in Europe regardless of the legal form (with the exception of UCITS, which have their own regime). This will create a level playing field for investment products and make it easier for investors to compare substitutable products. Since investment trusts companies are substitutable with other packaged retail investment products, the Government support their inclusion in the regulation. The Government have however advocated a transitional exemption for those investment trust companies which have recently adopted the disclosure regime designed for UCITS.

Mortgages

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many endowment mortgage complaints have been rejected by insurance companies and upheld by the Financial Ombudsman Service since 2010.

Sajid Javid: The Government do not collect data on the number of cases upheld by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS routinely collects and publishes statistics about the complaints referred to it, which it makes publicly available on its website.

Mortgages: Interest Rates

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking against mortgage lenders who breach the terms of tracker-rate mortgage contracts and unilaterally increase the interest rate charged.

Sajid Javid: The independent Financial Conduct Authority is responsible for the conduct regulation of residential mortgages, and sets the rules lenders are required to meet to ensure that consumers are treated fairly.
	It is worth being aware that when mortgage regulation was introduced in October 2004, it drew a distinction between owner-occupiers who face losing their home if things go wrong and buy-to-let landlords, whose properties are investments and who do not face the same risk. The Government are committed to regulating only where there is a clear case for doing so, in order to avoid putting additional costs on businesses that would ultimately lead to higher costs for customers.

Pensions

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to ensure that free and impartial guidance will be available to those (a) drawing down their pensions at 55 and (b) taking partial retirement.

David Gauke: Alongside the more flexible pension reforms, the Government announced a new guarantee that everyone with a defined contribution pension will be offered free and impartial face to face guidance on their financial choices in retirement when they retire.
	It is important that this guidance ensures that consumers are empowered and equipped to make the most of their pension savings, and to make decisions that best suit their personal circumstances and risk appetite for the duration of their retirement. That is why the Government are introducing a new guarantee that all individuals with a defined contribution pension in the UK approaching retirement will be offered guidance at the point of retirement. How best to deliver this guidance forms part of the Government's consultation, “Flexibility and Choice in Pensions”.

Revenue and Customs

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will publish the guidance given to HM Revenue and Customs on how that body should exercise its new powers to directly remove money from an individual's bank account;
	(2)  what steps HM Revenue and Customs is required to take to prove that a debt is owed before officials directly extract money from a person's bank account.

David Gauke: The Government will publish a consultation on the implementation of this measure shortly.
	As announced at Budget 2014, the Direct Recovery of Debts will focus on debtors who owe at least £1,000 and have been contacted multiple times by HMRC to pay. A minimum aggregate balance of £5,000 will be left across all accounts, including ISAs, after the debt is recovered.

Roads: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the allocation of funds from the Potholes Challenge Fund.

Danny Alexander: The Potholes Challenge Fund will be open to bids from local authorities in England.
	The Scottish Government received Barnett Consequentials based on additional funding for the Department for Transport associated with the Fund at Budget 2014.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Nick de Bois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many sales of properties that qualified for the 15% stamp duty land tax rate have taken place in (a) England and (b) London to date;
	(2)  how many sales of properties that qualified for the 7% stamp duty land tax rate have taken place in (a) England and (b) London to date; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what the average stamp duty yield in London is; and what this figure is as a proportion of the average London house price in the most recent month for which data are available;
	(4)  what the average stamp duty yield is in the UK; and what this figure is as a proportion of the average UK house price in the most recent month for which data are available;
	(5)  how much revenue accrued to the Exchequer from stamp duty land tax in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available;
	(6)  how much revenue accrued to the Exchequer from stamp duty land tax (SDLT) from properties in Greater London in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what this figure represents as a proportion of total SDLT receipts;
	(7)  what estimate he has made of the number of first time buyers in London who did not pay stamp duty land tax on the purchase of a new home between 1 April 2010 and 24 March 2012;
	(8)  how many sales of properties in each London borough qualified for the (a) 3%, (b) 4% and (c) 5% stamp duty land tax in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012;
	(9)  how many sales of properties that qualified for the (a) 3%, (b) 4% and (c) 5% stamp duty land tax rate took place in London in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and what proportion such sales represent of the total property sales in England at these bands.

David Gauke: HMRC has published stamp tax statistics for 2012-13 and we are therefore able to provide estimates for that year.
	The number of properties chargeable at the 15% rate is less than 100 nationally and is too small to break down into smaller geographical areas.
	The number of properties chargeable at the 7% rate in England is estimated to be approximately 3,100 and in London approximately 2,300.
	Stamp tax statistics for 2013-14 will be published on 27 September 2014 and thereafter will be available for supplementary analysis.
	The average stamp duty land tax yield in London and the UK for 2012-13 can be derived from the HMRC publication ‘UK Stamp Tax statistics 2012-13', which is available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-stamp-tax-statistics
	The total number of transactions, value of transactions and stamp duty land tax yield can be found in table 4.2. The average yield for residential properties in London is approximately £16,230, which represents 3.6% of the average residential property transaction.
	The average yield for the UK is approximately £5,283, which is 2.3% of the average residential property transaction.
	Total yield from stamp duty for the past 10 years can be found in the HMRC publication ‘Tax and NICs receipts: statistics table’ at this link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk
	Yield attributable to residential property for the UK and by Government office region is published in table 2.2 of ‘UK Stamp Tax statistics 2012-13', linked above. Yield for non-residential properties for the most recent year is contained in table 4.2 of that publication and historic data are held in the National Archives:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/*/http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/stamp_duty/menu.htm
	Relief from stamp duty land tax was available for residential property transactions where the consideration was more than £125,000 and not more than £250,000 and where the effective date of the transaction was on or after 25 March 2010 and before 25 March 2012. HMRC estimates that approximately 37,000 purchasers claimed First Time Buyer's relief in London during that period.
	The following table contains estimates of the number of transactions that took place in each London borough, the total for London and what that represents as a proportion of the total for England. Figures for the 3% and 4% bands are given for 2010-11. For 2011-12 and 2012-13 figures are also given for the 5% band.
	
		
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			  3% 4% 3% 4% 5% 3% 4% 5% 
			 Barking and Dagenham 110 1- 110 1- 1- 110 1- 1- 
			 Barnet 2,040 1,200 2,000 790 250 2,100 890 200 
			 Bexley 620 40 680 60 1- 790 50 1- 
			 Brent 1,040 350 1,180 300 100 1,240 310 80 
			 Bromley 2,020 630 2,020 510 110 2,180 560 70 
			 Camden 940 1,400 1,190 900 530 1,190 910 390 
			 City of London 700 440 790 360 120 830 360 70 
			 Croydon 1,220 270 1,180 190 40 1,390 220 1- 
			 Ealing 1,420 550 1,380 510 110 1,780 670 110 
			 Enfield 1,030 250 960 200 40 1,100 220 1- 
			 Greenwich 690 170 1,050 160 50 1,070 200 40 
			 Hackney 370 100 1,190 350 30 1,640 520 40 
			 Hammersmith 1,300 1,270 1,390 930 460 1,290 980 460 
			 Haringey 750 520 1,080 390 140 1,230 420 140 
			 Harrow 1,340 290 1,220 210 50 1,340 250 40 
			 Havering 790 150 760 90 1- 800 90 1- 
			 Hillingdon 1,430 210 1,340 250 1- 1,460 230 1- 
			 Hounslow 920 380 900 270 110 1,040 290 80 
			 Islington 690 470 1,470 740 210 1,550 790 240 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 880 3,000 750 1,130 1,620 650 1,070 800 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,280 390 1,140 340 60 1,300 390 60 
			 Lambeth 1,140 490 1,830 560 140 2,160 730 140 
			 Lewisham 860 170 1,080 150 1- 1,430 210 1- 
			 Merton 970 560 1,020 440 180 1,150 470 120 
			 Newham 170 1- 280 1- 1- 370 1- 1- 
			 Redbridge 1,260 210 1,160 180 1- 1,200 180 1- 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,670 1,360 1,420 950 360 1,650 1,000 330 
			 Southwark 1,280 500 1,750 560 150 1,640 690 150 
			 Sutton 810 150 850 170 1- 940 140 1- 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,410 290 1,860 390 90 2,340 460 60 
			 Waltham Forest 590 40 710 40 1- 970 60 1- 
			 Wandsworth 2,770 1,770 2,830 1,460 470 2,990 1,540 420 
			 Westminster 1,360 3,090 1,460 1,540 1,560 1,390 1,560 980 
			 London 35,800 20,700 40,000 15,100 7,000 44,300 16,400 5,000 
			 As percentage of England 25 42 28 41 61 29 42 57 
			 1 Figures suppressed to protect taxpayer confidentiality 
		
	
	Estimates are rounded to the nearest 10 transactions at borough level and 100 for London. Small estimates have been suppressed in order to maintain taxpayer confidentiality.

Stock Market: Channel Islands

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has held with the Guernsey Financial Services Commission on its investigation into the Channel Islands Stock Exchange over its recognised status and the recent reported allegations of wrongdoing.

David Gauke: There have been no discussions with the Guernsey Financial Services Commission in relation to the Channel Islands Stock Exchange's Recognised Stock Exchange designation.

Tax Allowances: Personal Pensions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much income tax relief was payable in respect of personal pension contributions for income taxed at (a) 40 per cent and (b) 20 per cent in 2012-13; and how many people in each category received such relief.

David Gauke: Tax relief on pension contributions is the primary means by which the Government incentivise saving for retirement. The estimated contributions made to personal pensions and total tax relief in 2012-13 may be found in the published National Statistics produced by HMRC here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/285089/PEN6.pdf
	The latest available estimates (from 2011-12) of the number of people receiving income tax deductions for their personal pension contributions and the value of deductions by different income levels can be found in Table 3.8 at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/276037/tables3-1_3-11.pdf

Tax Evasion

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many evasion referrals were made by the taskforces established by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to crack down on tax evasion and tax avoidance to the HMRC Evasion Referral Team in each tax year from 2011-12; and how many of those referrals were adopted as working cases by the HMRC's (i) Criminal Investigation, (ii) Specialist Investigation and (iii) Local Compliance Fraud business units.

David Gauke: The figures requested are in the following table:
	
		
			 Number 
			  Taskforce Evasion Referrals received Adopted by Criminal Investigations or the Criminal Taxes Unit Adopted by Specialist Investigations Adopted by Local Compliance Fraud 
			 2011-12 128 14 0 1 
			 2012-13 336 38 6 24 
		
	
	
		
			 2013-14 557 68 9 52 
		
	
	The figures only cover the period up to 28 February 2014. As at that date there were still 118 referrals being reviewed some of which may subsequently be adopted.
	The referrals are made by HMRC officers when they suspect or discover evasion. The process is designed to escalate this type of case to a specialist team—Criminal Investigation, Specialist Investigation or Local Compliance Fraud—for review. If the case is not adopted by one of these teams it is returned to the referring officer to deal with.

Tax Evasion

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many evasion referrals were made to the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Evasion Referral Team in each tax year since 2011-12; and how many of those referrals were adopted as working cases by HMRC's (a) Criminal Investigation, (b) Specialist Investigation and (c) Local Compliance Fraud business units in each such year.

David Gauke: The figures requested are in the following table:
	
		
			 Number 
			  Tax Evasion Referrals received Adopted by Criminal Investigations or the Criminal Taxes Unit Adopted by Specialist Investigations Adopted by Local Compliance Fraud 
			 2011-12 3,584 262 121 244 
			 2012-13 2,888 330 119 215 
		
	
	The figures only cover the period up to 28 February 2014. As at that date there were still 565 referrals being reviewed some of which may subsequently be adopted.
	The referrals are made by HMRC officers when they suspect or discover evasion. The process is designed to escalate this type of case to a specialist team—Criminal Investigation, Specialist Investigation or Local Compliance Fraud—for review. If the case is not adopted by one of these teams it is returned to the referring officer to deal with.

Tax Evasion: Travellers

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the annual amount of tax evasion attributable to Gypsies and travellers.

David Gauke: In ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2013' HMRC estimated that evasion accounted for around £5.1 billion (15%) of the total tax gap in 2011-12. This can be found at the following link:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps/mtg-2013.pdf
	These estimates cannot be disaggregated by Gypsies and travellers.

Taxation: Environment Protection

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to paragraph 2.30 of Budget 2014, what the (a) total and (b) annual monetary value will be of the compensation package for higher electricity costs for energy intensive industries resulting from the renewables obligation and feed-in tariffs; what the eligibility criteria for this scheme will be; and what estimate he has made of the number of energy intensive industries that will meet these criteria.

Nicky Morgan: These schemes will begin in 2016-17. Departments’ spending plans for years beyond 2015-16 will be set out at future spending reviews. The detailed design of the scheme will need to take account of EU state aid guidelines. The final policy design, compatible with state aid, will determine which companies are eligible and how many there will be.

Taxation: Pensions

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis the projection in the Budget 2014 that the pension proposals will generate £1.2 billion in marginal taxation by 2018-19 was calculated.

David Gauke: The Government estimate that the greater flexibility, announced for pensioners at Budget 2014, will result in faster withdrawal of pension income than would otherwise have been the case. The methodology behind this costing—which was certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility—can be seen in the “Budget 2014: Policy Costings” document (p. 11), available here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/295067/PU1638_policy_costings_bud_ 2014_with_correction_slip.pdf

Taxation: Rebates

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many tax refunds were withheld for inquiry to be made in the tax years (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13 for (i) income tax, (ii) value added tax, (iii) corporation tax and (iv) national insurance;
	(2)  what part by value of the tax refunds paid without being held for inquiry subsequently were reclaimed from the taxpayer to whom they were paid in the tax years (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13 for (i) income tax, (ii) value added tax, (iii) corporation tax and (iv) national insurance;
	(3)  what the value of tax refunds withheld for inquiry to be made was in the tax years (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13 for (i) income tax, (ii) value added tax, (iii) corporation tax and (iv) national insurance; and what part by value was subsequently remitted to the taxpayer making the claim.

David Gauke: We are unable to provide the level of analysis asked for in these questions. HMRC does not have case tracking systems that can generate reports at the level of detail requested and any attempt to collate the information manually could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Taxation: Rebates

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax refunds were made in the tax years (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13 for (i) income tax, (ii) value added tax, (iii) corporation tax and (iv) national insurance; and what the total value of refunds was in each such category in each such year.

David Gauke: The figures shown represent the value of repayment figures as included in the accrued net revenue figures in the Statement of Revenue, Other Income and Expenditure which are published in the Annual Report and Accounts. We hold only the total value not number of repayments made by tax type.[Official Report, 7 April 2014, Vol. 579, c. 2MC.]
	
		
			 HOD 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Income Tax 9,703,600,140.60 11,062,294,029.42 12,032,623,916.28 12,452,181,005.78 
			 VAT 52,098,844,904.82 65,208,522,155.96 75,332,913,101.11 74,730,895,023.43 
			 Corporation Tax 8,993,368,840.74 5,012,774,914.88 6,999,305,350.27 4,619,517,414.07 
			 National Insurance Contributions. 381,775,025.34 359,560,830.57 233,269,374.25 749,910,875.73

Children: Day Care

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of the provisions of the Consumer Rights Bill on the administration and provision of child care vouchers; and if he will make a statement.

Jennifer Willott: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Where child care services are provided by a trader (eg a nursery school) to a consumer (eg a parent) under a contract, then Chapter 4 (the Services Chapter) of the Consumer Rights Bill will apply.
	This chapter requires that these traders provide services with reasonable care and skill and in line with certain information given about the service. If that is not the case, the chapter sets out remedies which the consumer is entitled to, such as a repeat performance or, failing that, a reduction in price. Consumers may also be entitled to damages under the common law and the Bill makes this clear. Where there are other enactments which apply, this chapter makes clear that those take precedence (clause 53), which ensures that current standards still apply where they are set out in existing enactments.
	In the case of child care vouchers offered under an employer-supported child care scheme, the contract for provision of child care is between the parent (consumer) and the child care provider (the trader), therefore child care provided using the voucher scheme is covered by this chapter of the Consumer Rights Bill.
	We expect that, overall, consumers will benefit from the proposed reforms to the services regime. We estimate quantified benefits of £33 million per annum, of which £9 million is from the reduced risk of consumer detriment. In addition to these quantified benefits there are a range of economic benefits that have not been quantified. The reforms would deliver market-wide changes through promoting confident consumers, experimenting with new products or services and switching suppliers, which in turn should drive innovation, greater competitiveness and deliver new opportunities for economic growth.
	The Government are also committed to improving the accessibility, affordability and quality of child care. To that end we are encouraging schools to offer more nursery provision, making it easier for people to take up childminding by introducing childminder agencies, and have introduced a new entitlement to funded early education for the least advantaged two-year-olds.

HEALTH

Botulinum Toxin

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safeguards are in place to protect people against health problems arising from operations involving the use of botulism toxin.

Daniel Poulter: As a licensed medicine the safety of botulinum toxin itself is not under question and I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given by the Minister of State, Department of Health on 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 492W, which sets out the current arrangements for regulation of botulinum toxin products. However, as with other injectable products patients may experience adverse outcomes.

Brain: Injuries

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of cases of concussion in (a) football and (b) other contact sports.

Jane Ellison: The NHS Choices website provides the public with general advice on reducing the risk of concussion when participating in sport. This advice includes wearing a helmet, where appropriate, and ensuring participation is supervised by a properly qualified and trained person.
	However, matters concerning action to prevent concussion cases in sport would be the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Cancer

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of total funding for cancer research carried out in the UK that came from government in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14.

Daniel Poulter: The following figures provide an estimate of funding for cancer research, provided by the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Research Database 2010 to 2013. This includes only direct spend on cancer research, or spend which directly supports cancer research.
	
		
			 £ 
			  Database 
			  2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Research Council spend (BBSRC, MRC, ESRC) 118,618,495 123,958,071 106,204,054 90,108,328 
			 Health Department spend (England, Scotland, Wales, NI) 75,939,121 85,522,676 87,398,281 84,585,155 
			 Total Government spend (Research Councils + Health Departments) 194,557,617 209,480,747 193,602,335 174,693,483 
			 Non-Government NCRI Partners spend (Charities) 309,700,809 311,933,001 313,681,324 328,119,144 
			 Total NCRI Partner spend 504,258,426 521,413,748 507,283,659 502,812,627 
			 Key: BBSRC—Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council MRC—Medical Research Council ESRC—Economic and Social Research Council Note: These figures have not been adjusted for inflation.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on research into chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: Expenditure by the Department through research programmes, research centres and units, and research fellowships on research on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2009-10 1.1 
			 2010-11 1.3 
			 2011-12 2.7 
			 2012-13 4.2 
			 2013-14 14.5 
			 1 Estimated. 
		
	
	Total spend is higher than the figures shown because expenditure by the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network (CRN) on COPD cannot be disaggregated from total CRN expenditure.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of pulmonary rehabilitation services that were at full provision in (a)  2010, (b)  2011 and (c)  2012;
	(2)  how much the NHS spends on provision of pulmonary rehabilitation services in England; and how much the NHS spends on provision of cardiac rehabilitation services in England.

Jane Ellison: No estimate has been made of pulmonary rehabilitation services that were at full provision in the years requested as this information is not held centrally. It is for local commissioners to determine the requirements to meet the needs of their local populations.
	The current national chronic obstructive pulmonary disease audit will provide some information on the range and quality of pulmonary, rehabilitation services when it reports next year. Further information can be found at:
	www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/national-copd-audit-programme-starting-2013
	The Department does not collect data on how much the national health service spends on the provision of pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation services in the format requested.
	The Department collects reference costs annually from NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts in England. However, these costs cover a broader range of procedures and some costs associated with cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation may relate to different services.
	Cost data related to providing cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehabilitation services for 2012-13 to NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts are listed in the following table.
	
		
			 Description Total cost (£ million) 
			 Rehabilitation for Acute Myocardial Infarction and Other Cardiac Disorders 10.4 
			 Rehabilitation for Respiratory Disorders 24.1 
			 Rehabilitation for Other Disorders 304.0 
		
	
	The following table shows the total cost to NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts in 2012-13 for out-patient attendances for the service descriptions of cardiac rehabilitation and programmed pulmonary rehabilitation.
	
		
			 Service description Total cost (£ million) 
			 Programmed Pulmonary Rehabilitation 0.1 
			 Cardiac Rehabilitation 1.9

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department provided for awareness-raising work for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013.

Jane Ellison: The Department did not run any specific public awareness campaigns on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2011, 2012 or 2013. However, the Department's Marketing team spent £460,000 in financial year 2010-11, £3,160,000 in 2011-12 and £8,210,000 in 2012-13 on mass media to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking, which is one of the main causes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
	In addition Public Health England recently ran a pilot campaign in Oldham and Rochdale to raise awareness amongst the public about the importance of visiting their general practitioner with symptoms of breathlessness. The campaign ran from 24 February for four weeks. The key messages of the campaign were
	“If you get out of breath doing things you used to be able to do, tell your doctor. Getting out of breath could be a sign of heart or lung disease. Finding it early makes it more treatable, so don't ignore it, tell your doctor.”
	It is too early to have results for the Breathlessness campaign yet.

Cystic Fibrosis

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the quality of psychological support available to individuals with cystic fibrosis who receive a lung transplantation.

Jane Ellison: NHS Blood and Transplant is continuing to work with transplant centres to consider practical steps within the current system which could improve patient outcomes. It continues to review the current allocation process and works with international organisations to share learning to improve processes.
	The Department is aware that the Cystic Fibrosis Trust published a report on 10 March 2014—“Hope for all: Improving lung transplantation for people with cystic fibrosis”—which sets out 13 recommendations around organ donation and transplantations for people living with cystic fibrosis. The report covered pre-and-post lung transplant standards for care, including psychosocial support.

Dementia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of recent progress in the diagnosis of dementia and in the availability to the public of improved methods of diagnosis.

Norman Lamb: The current dementia diagnosis rate, 2012-13, is 48.7%, an increase from 46% in 2011-12. NHS England has set the first ever national ambition to improve dementia diagnosis rates to two-thirds by March 2015.
	A dementia breakthrough challenge to demonstrate a step change in dementia diagnosis, with a prize of £1 million, has been set up by NHS Improving Quality.

Dental Services: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many children (a) are and (b) are not registered with a dentist in (i) Cumbria and (ii) South Lakeland;
	(2)  how many people (a) are and (b) are not registered with a dentist in (i) Cumbria and (ii) South Lakeland.

Daniel Poulter: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Under the current dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with a national health service dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to “registration” is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services (“patients seen”).
	This data are available at Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) level. Cumbria CCG covers Carlisle, Eden, Allerdale, Copeland, Furness and South Lakeland areas.
	The number of children seen by an NHS dentist in the 24-month period ending 31 December 2013 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of patients seen Percentage of population 
			 England 7,876,013 69.0 
			 North of England region 2,353,508 73.7 
			 Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear area team 280,298 74.5 
			 Cumbria CCG 69,694 72.9 
			 Notes: 1. Percentage of the population figures use Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid-year population estimates for 2011. 2. 0.2% of all data are assigned to an “Unallocated” CCG, usually because of an invalid postcode. These can still be assigned to an area team as this information is included in the raw data provided by the Business Service Authority (BSA), and thus they can also be allocated to a region. Source: NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2013/2014, Second quarterly report www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/dental1314q2 
		
	
	The number of patients seen by an NHS dentist in the 24-month period ending 31 December 2013 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of patients seen Percentage of population 
			 England 29,909,023 55.9 
			 North of England region 9,248,752 61.1 
			 Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear area team 1,167,012 60.5 
			 Cumbria CCG 275,648 54.6 
			 Notes: 1. Percentage of the population figures use ONS mid-year population estimates for 2011. 2. 0.2% of all data are assigned to an “Unallocated” CCG, usually because of an invalid postcode. These can still be assigned to an area team as this information is included in the raw data provided by the BSA, and thus they can also be allocated to a region. Source: NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2013/2014, Second quarterly report www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/dental1314q2

Drugs

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that clinical data from pharmaceutical companies on drugs over 15 years old are made available to clinical researchers;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to advance and promote transparency in the pharmaceutical industry in publishing data on drugs over 15 years old.

Norman Lamb: The Government encourage the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry to work with its members to share and promote best practice on clinical trial data transparency and data sharing. The new Clinical Trials Regulation that will be formally adopted by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament in April or May this year obliges the European Commission to produce a guideline on the formatting and sharing of raw data on a voluntary basis.

Drugs

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that the Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency does not destroy clinical trial data on drugs licensed over 15 years ago; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: Under the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) records management policy, all information is retained for seven years unless there is a legal, regulatory, or business need to keep them for a shorter or longer period, or they are considered to be of lasting historic interest. The MHRA retains key documents relating to the agency's assessment and decision-making processes, such as original assessment reports or papers submitted to advisory committees for advice. Some of these records are in turn filed permanently at the National Archives.
	Under clinical trial regulations, the sponsor or other owner of the data must retain all documentation pertaining to the trial as long as the product is authorised. This documentation includes the trial protocol, methodology of the trial, with conditions under which it is performed and managed, details of the investigational product, the reference medicinal product and/or the placebo used, any standard operating procedures used for conducting the trial, all written opinions on the protocol and procedures, the investigator's brochure, case report forms on each trial subject, final report and audit certificate(s), if available, and staff training records. The final trial report is retained by the sponsor or subsequent owner, for five years after the medicinal product is no longer authorised and the MHRA can request this information from the sponsor.
	The MHRA's approach to retention and disposal of information is kept under review.
	http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/path-qa-review.pdf

Drugs: Misuse

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to ensure that people are fully informed of the health risks of taking legal highs.

Jane Ellison: Education plays an important role in helping to ensure that young people are equipped with the information they need to make informed, healthy decisions and to keep themselves safe.
	The Talk to FRANK service provides young people in England with friendly, confidential advice and information about drugs, including ‘legal highs'/New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and has tips on how to resist peer pressure to experiment. The service is provided through a range of channels (helpline, website, SMS, email, web chat) to suit a variety of different needs.
	Drug education is part of the science national curriculum at key stage 2 and key stage 3 and provision in this area can be built on through Personal, Social, Health and Economic education.
	From July to October 2013, the Home Office ran communications activity targeted at young people aged 13-18 to raise awareness of the risks, consequences and harms of NPS amongst those contemplating using these drugs by signposting them to the FRANK website for further information and advice about the effects and risks of NPS.
	NPS will continue to remain a key work priority in drug policy and the Minister for Crime Prevention is currently leading a review to look at how the United Kingdom's response to new psychoactive substances can be enhanced beyond the existing measures.
	The review is being conducted by an expert panel, which is looking at the potential enhancement of the current legislative framework as well as health and education.

Eyes: Diseases

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research his Department has commissioned into Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy in the last five years;
	(2)  what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the drug idebonen in treating Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy.

Daniel Poulter: We have made no such assessment and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has not issued any guidance on the use of idebenone for the treatment of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).
	Subject to contract, the Department's National Institute for Health Research has approved £0.5 million funding for a trial stratifying patients with LHON for idebenone therapy using mitochondrial DNA analysis.

Foetal Death

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what disciplinary action he plans to take against hospital managers and workers who have incinerated foetal remains against the wishes of the parents.

Daniel Poulter: Responsibility for ensuring that staff comply with their hospital's policy on disposal of fetal remains lies with the relevant national health service trust or NHS foundation trust. Any disciplinary action considered necessary as a result of inappropriate staff practice will be a matter for the trust or foundation trust as the employing authority.

General Practitioners

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information sourced by GPs is reliable and safe to pass to patients.

Daniel Poulter: It is the responsibility of individual general practitioners (GPs), using their professional clinical judgment, to ensure that the information that they give to patients is reliable and safe.
	With regard to clinical information given to patients, medical revalidation, which commenced in December 2012, requires all doctors with a licence to practice medicine in the United Kingdom to provide evidence through their annual appraisals of how they have kept their knowledge and skills up to date, including the latest techniques, technologies and research.
	GPs have to demonstrate that they are actively maintaining their skills through continual professional development and are aware of new clinical guidelines which are regularly published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and disseminated to GPs.

Health Education: Food

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to Lord Beecham of 20 March 2014, Official Report, House of Lords, column 269, how much the Government have spent on (a) Healthy Start, (b) Change4Life and (c) the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: Total Government expenditure on these schemes in each of the last three complete financial years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Healthy Start (United Kingdom) 105.3 105.2 104:9 
			 Change4Life (England) 10 10.3 14 
			 School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (England) 40.5 41.3 38.3

Health Services: Greater Manchester

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the prevalence of gaming of 18 and 52 week waiting list thresholds by NHS secondary care providers in Greater Manchester.

Jane Ellison: No such assessment has been made.
	The Department is not aware of any ‘gaming’ of the 18 and 52 week referral to treatment targets by national health service secondary care providers in Greater Manchester. ‘Gaming' or manipulating NHS performance data is totally unacceptable. Any evidence of such practice would be investigated by the relevant NHS body as a priority and action taken.

Hospitals: Fairtrade Initiative

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further steps he is taking to encourage the use of Fairtrade goods in catering in hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: Through the NHS Standard Contract, hospitals must have regard to Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (Food GBS) which includes a requirement that at least 50% of tea and coffee is fairly traded. Data collected as part of the 2013 Patient Led Assessment of the Care Environment process indicates 50% of all hospitals report that they are fully compliant with Food GBS, with a further 25% actively working towards compliance.
	In addition, financial incentives are now available to providers who adopt food standards. These incentives are part of the exemplar Commissioning for Quality and Innovation process and are negotiated locally.
	The Department has established a Hospital Food Standards Panel, under the chairmanship of Dianne Jeffrey, chairman of Age UK. The panel is examining existing food standards including those relating to local and sustainable procurement referencing Fairtrade. The panel will report in autumn 2014.

Learning Disability

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with learning disabilities received annual health checks in each year since 2009.

Norman Lamb: The numbers of people who received a check under the Clinical Directed Enhanced Services learning disabilities health check scheme are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of people who received a check 
			 2008-09 27,011 
			 2009-10 58,919 
			 2010-111 73,068 
			 2011-121 86,134 
			 2012-13 92,329 
			 1 Revised. Note: Following the publication of the 2010-11 figures by the National Health Service Omnibus survey to primary care trusts (PCTs) a small number of PCTs reported that they had returned incorrect figures and asked to be allowed to revise these. In each of the last two collections (May 2012 for 2011-12 figures and May 2013 for 2012-13 figures) PCTs were allowed to submit revised numbers for people eligible and receiving health checks in the previous year. Where indicated, numbers shown are the revised figures.

Learning Disability

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure all people with learning difficulties receive annual health checks;
	(2)  what targets his Department has set for the number of people with learning difficulties who will receive annual health checks in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

Norman Lamb: The learning disabilities health check scheme was introduced into the general practitioner (GP) contract in 2010-11. Take-up of the scheme by GP practices has steadily increased, and 83% of practices now offer this service to people with learning disabilities who are on their registered patient list. We have agreed with the GP Committee of the British Medical Association, to increase the qualifying cohort for health checks to include all patients from the age of 14.
	We are very much committed to building on this progress, so that all people with moderate or severe learning disabilities have access to health checks. We consider that this is best done by continuing to extend take-up among the 17% of practices that are not yet providing the service. NHS England will work with system providers to develop a standard template that will address the priorities stated above. This template will enable GP practices to deliver a high standard of care to all patients
	As part of the Enhanced Service Specification for those practices signed up to the learning disabilities health check scheme, it is a requirement that all eligible patients will be offered an annual health check. Work will continue with those practices who have not yet signed up to the scheme.
	There are no targets set for annual health checks.

Medical Equipment

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GP practices in England have access to spirometry equipment; and what proportion of that equipment is quality-assured diagnostic level spirometry.

Daniel Poulter: It is for individual general practitioner practices to determine what equipment is necessary in order to provide national health service primary medical services to their patients to meet the terms of their contract with NHS England.

Medical Records: Databases

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2014, Official Report, columns 724-5W, on medical records: databases, if he will list the holders of a commercial re-use licence granted by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC); and for each such licence for what purpose the use of HSCIC data was approved.

Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) is committed to openness and transparency around the use of health data. Both the report, covering data approved, and released by HSCIC post 31 March 2013 and the audit, covering other data releases back to 2005 by NHS Information Centre, will include the purpose of the data release. The report will be published on 3 April 2014 and will be maintained thereafter. The audit will be available to report to the HSCIC Board at the end of April 2014. In parallel, the HSCIC is working on identifying which agreements cover reuse.

Medical Treatments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which treatments have been appraised through a technology appraisal by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or its predecessor bodies; in which indication each treatment was appraised; on which date each appraisal was (a) initiated and (b) concluded; what the estimated eligible patient population for the treatment in each appraised indication was; whether the end-of-life criteria were applied in each final appraisal determination; whether the additional healthcare costs associated with prolonged survival were captured in each final appraisal determination; what the (i) lowest, (ii) highest and (iii) base case estimate of the cost-per-quality adjusted life year of the treatment in each appraised indication was; and what the recommendation resulting from each appraisal was.

Norman Lamb: Details of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal decisions published between 2000 to end February 2014 have been placed in the Library.
	NICE has advised that information on additional health care costs associated with prolonged survival and the lowest, highest and base case estimates of the cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) of each appraised indication is not held.
	NICE does hold the most plausible cost per QALY for each technology appraisal, the estimated eligible patient population for each appraised indication, details of appraisals where end-of-life criteria were applied in each final appraisal determination and the dates each appraisal was initiated and concluded. However, this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Medicine: Research

Rebecca Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the draft European General Data Protection Regulation on medical research.

Daniel Poulter: For medical research the proposed Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) text which the European Parliament has voted to take forward will have a detrimental effect on conducting medical research in the EU including in the United Kingdom.
	The overall impact to research of the proposed LIBE proposals would make accessing sensitive personal information difficult, as consent from an individual citizen is required if identifiable, pseudonymised or linked data were needed, noting most research is rarely on one data set. Therefore, conducting research in the EU, using data, would become difficult to conduct.
	Department of Health officials are working with Ministry of Justice officials to resist any changes that would have a negative impact on medical research.

Meningitis

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the timeframe within which it will be able to negotiate a cost-effective price for the meningitis B vaccine.

Jane Ellison: The Department and Public Health England will start negotiations with Novartis, which produces the only licensed meningitis B vaccine, as soon as possible.
	The first step in these negotiations will be to determine whether we can get the vaccine at a cost-effective price, as the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is recommending. This will be a matter for negotiation with the manufacturers.
	As negotiations are yet to commence, we are at present unable to give a clear time scale within which these will be concluded.
	If successful, the programme will be implemented as rapidly as possible while ensuring we can establish a robust vaccination programme with a reliable supply of vaccine.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of local authorities in England which have rescinded agreements made with NHS mental health trusts under section 75 of the National Health Services Act 2006 in each year since 2010.

Norman Lamb: No such assessment has been made.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the proportion and number of people in England who have been medicated for psychiatric disorders in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: No assessment has been made of the proportion and number of people in England who have been medicated for psychiatric disorders.

Necrotising Fasciitis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of necrotising fasciitis have been recorded in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Necrotising Fasciitis (NF) is a rare disease caused by a number of different bacteria. We have no dedicated surveillance systems for NF and as such do not have any accurate data on numbers of cases diagnosed each year. Public Health England does have past estimates of numbers of NF cases due to group A streptococci, bacteria associated with particularly severe infection, but not in the last five years.

NHS: Expenditure

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much was spent on nationally commissioned NHS services (a) at each hospital trust and (b) for each medical specialty in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2009-10, (iv) 2008-09, (v) 2007-08, (vi) 2006-07, (vii) 2005-06 and (viii) 2004-05;
	(2)  how much has been spent on nationally-commissioned NHS services (a) at each hospital trust and (b) for each medical specialty in 2012-13.

Jane Ellison: This information is not collected in the format requested.
	HS England advises that it does not currently hold data on spend across the country on specialised services at hospital trust or medical specialty level. NHS England is in the process of developing a single, standard mechanism for counting, coding and analysing specialised services activity and finance data.

NHS: Re-employment

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS staff in (a) Warrington, (b) the North West and (c) England who have been made redundant since 2010 have since been re-employed by the NHS on (i) a permanent basis, (ii) on a fixed-term contract and (iii) as consultants.

Daniel Poulter: In the context of a national health service workforce of almost 1.3 million, the number of NHS staff to have been made redundant since May 2010 and subsequently re-employed by an NHS organisation is relatively small, estimated to be in the specific geographical region as shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Permanent Fixed-term contract Total 
			 Warrington 5 5 10 
			 North-west 340 200 540 
			 England 2,630 1,420 4,050 
			 Notes: 1. These estimates are derived from unvalidated data from the electronic staff record (ESR) data warehouse, and so only cover redundancies from, and re-employment to, those organisations that use ESR. 2. It is not possible to use ESR records to identify consultants as they are not directly employed by the NHS. 3. The ESR is the human resources and payroll system that covers most NHS employees. ESR was fully rolled out across the NHS in April 2008. The ESR data used in this reply are not centrally validated and their reliability is subject to local coding practice. Redundancies are identified by staff records with a reason for leaving coded as either voluntary or compulsory redundancy. 4. Only those individuals with a leaving date of 1 May 2010 or later and a hire, return, date of 31 December 2013 or earlier have been included in the total. The figure includes those who are recorded as having been re-employed with a substantive, either permanent or fixed-term, contract. It is not possible to identify consultants not directly employed by the NHS using ESR records. 5. The following organisations which use ESR have been identified within each geographical area: “Warrington”: Warrington Primary Care Trust, Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group and the Warrington and Halton NHS Foundation Trust. “North-west”: all organisations listed on ESR as belonging to the North West Local Education and Training Board regions. This includes a range of CCGs, PCTs, Trusts, Foundation Trusts and the North West Ambulance Trust. 6. In a small number of cases, staff are recorded as being made redundant more than once. In such cases, only the latest redundancy is counted. Where staff have more than one start date subsequent to redundancy, only the earliest date is counted. Some staff initially re-employed on a fixed-term contract basis who subsequently are further employed on a permanent basis will only be counted on the fixed-term contract basis, and vice versa.

NHS: Reorganisation

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 18 July 2013, Official Report, columns 125-6WS, on NHS modernisation (costs and benefits), if he will publish a detailed breakdown of the (a) gross savings over the transition period and (b) long-term annual savings.

Jane Ellison: Gross reductions in administration costs over the period 2010-11 to 2012-13 are set out as follows. These are calculated on a basis consistent with the impact assessment for the Health and Social Care Bill (published in September 2011) ie the figures set aside any administrative spending on implementing the reforms.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2010-11 240 
			 2011-12 1,341 
			 2012-13 1,587 
			 Total 3,168 
		
	
	Figures for 2013-14 will be available when the Department's annual report and accounts are published. Consistent with the written ministerial statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, on 18 July 2013, Official Report, columns 125-26WS, on the costs and benefits of NHS Modernisation, the cumulative savings arising from the reforms over this Parliament are still expected to be at least £5.5 billion in real terms.
	On a basis consistent with the impact assessment, the long term annual savings arising from the reforms are still expected to be £1.5 billion. Because the set of bodies that existed in 2010-11 is different from the set that will exist in 2014-15 it is not possible to set out how the budgets of individual bodies have changed over this period.

NHS: Staff

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many managers and administrators were employed in the NHS in the (a) latest period for which figures are available and (b) 12 months prior to that period.

Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre Provisional Monthly Workforce Statistics show the number of managers and administrators employed by the national health service in England. The latest available statistics are for December 2013.
	The numbers of administrative staff (clerical and administrative staff) and managers as at December 2012 and December 2013 are shown in the following table. Included in these figures are administrative staff who support clinicians, such as medical secretaries, call handlers and receptionists. Such staff have patient contact as part of their duties.
	NHS hospital and community health services provisional monthly statistics: Clerical and administrative staff and managers and senior managers in England by main staff group as at 31 December each specified year.
	
		
			 Full-time equivalent 
			  Total 
			  December 2012 December 2013 
			 Clerical and administrative   
			 Support to doctors and nursing staff 87,455 87,970 
			 Support to ST&T staff 10,104 10,131 
			 Support to ambulance staff 3,954 4,556 
			 Central functions 94,743 93,949 
			 Hotel, property and estates 6,170 6,372 
			    
			 Managers and senior managers 35,535 34,862 
		
	
	
		
			 Of which:   
			 Senior manager 10,585 10,375 
			 Manager 24,950 24,486 
			    
			 Senior managers, managers, clerical and admin staff 237,960 237,842 
			 Notes: 1. Clerical and administrative staff work in the ‘Support to doctors and nursing staff’, ‘Support to ST&T staff’ and ‘Support to ambulance staff’ staff groups. These are staff who have some patient contact as part of their duties, such as receptionists, medical secretaries or call handlers, for example. Clerical and administrative staff who work in the categories ‘Central functions’ and ‘Hotel, property and estates’ are thought to have no patient contact. 2. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. 3. ST&T-Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Provisional Monthly Workforce Statistics

Obesity: Children

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of children in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and Humber and (c) England were classed as overweight in each year since 1997.

Jane Ellison: The proportion of children overweight in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency, (b) Yorkshire and Humber and (c) England as measured by the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) 2006-07 to 2012-13 is shown in the following table. There are no local level child obesity data prior to 2006-07 in the NCMP. There are data for England as a whole from the Health Survey for England from 1995.
	
		
			 Prevalence of overweight (including obese) among children aged four to five (reception) and 10 to 11 (year 6) years 
			 Percentage 
			  England Yorkshire and the Humber East Riding of Yorkshire North Lincolnshire 
			  Reception Year 6 Reception Year 6 Reception Year 6 Reception Year 6 
			 2006-07 22.9 31.7 22.7 31.3 22.4 29.5 22.2 31.7 
			 2007-08 22.6 32,6 22.8 33.1 24.7 31.6 24.4 32.2 
			 2008-09 22.8 32.6 22.7 32.6 25.5 31.3 19.2 31.7 
			 2009-10 23.1 33.4 22.1 33.1 24.8 33.6 18.5 32.4 
			 2010-11 22.6 33.4 22.1 33.2 24.2 31.8 24.2 32.0 
			 2011-12 22.6 33.9 22.1 33.7 23.9 33.2 23.7 35.9 
			 2012-13 22.2 33.3 21.9 33.2 20.8 32.7 24.9 33.4

Organs: Donors

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were added to the organ donor register in Brigg and Goole constituency in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of people added to the NHS organ donor register in Brigg and Goole constituency in each of the calendar year from 2009 to 2013 
			  Number 
			 2009 1,207 
			 2010 1,371 
			 2011 1,202 
			 2012 1,161 
			 2013 1,439 
			 Total 6,380 
			 Source: NHS Blood and Transplant.

Pathology

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of trends in the incidence of quality failures in NHS hospital histopathology laboratories over the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has not made any recent assessment of trends in the incidence of quality failures in national health service hospital histopathology laboratories over the last five years.
	NHS England advises it is not aware of any specific work that has been undertaken nationally in this area. However, in late 2012 Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the then NHS Medical Director, and now NHS England's Medical Director, commissioned an independent review into pathology quality assurance. The outcome of the review was published in January 20141.
	The review proposes ways in which the system could be strengthened, including that NHS England should look at how it might provide regular reports to the NHS on trends and errors in pathology.
	1 http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/path-qa-review.pdf

Psoriasis

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how his Department will incentivise the NHS to meet the National Institute for Care Excellence quality standard on psoriasis;
	(2)  what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on the implementation of the National Institute for Care Excellence quality standard on psoriasis;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the implementation across the NHS in England of the National Institute for Care Excellence quality standard on psoriasis.

Norman Lamb: No discussions have taken place between the Department and NHS England regarding the implementation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standard on psoriasis.
	Quality standards are important in setting out to patients, the public, commissioners and providers what a high quality service should look like in a particular area of care. NHS England continues to champion their use with both commissioners and providers.
	No assessment has been made of the implementation of the quality standard on psoriasis. While national health service organisations must have regard to NICE quality standards in planning and delivering services, the quality standards do not provide a comprehensive service specification and are not mandatory.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 718W, what the additional funding for radiotherapy was spent on in each year since April 2011; and if he will publish NHS England's expenditure plans for the additional £42 million allocated for improving radiotherapy services in 2014-15.

Jane Ellison: “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”, published on 12 January 2011, set out our commitment to expand radiotherapy services by investing over £150 million in additional funding up to 2014-15 through recurrent revenue allocations to primary care trusts and was not ring-fenced for specific purposes.
	With regard to the additional £42 million allocated for improving radiotherapy services in 2014-15, NHS England will be developing plans for improving radiotherapy, referencing the recently published “Vision for Radiotherapy” document produced in conjunction with Cancer Research UK, and will share these in due course.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccinations were administered in England in the last 12 months; what guidance his Department has issued on whether babies born prematurely or at risk of bronchiolitis should be given the RSV vaccination; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of administering the RSV vaccination to all babies born between November and February.

Jane Ellison: Data on the number of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisations given in the last 12 months are not available centrally.
	Guidance on the RSV immunisation and on its use is detailed in the publication, Immunisation against Infectious Diseases, also referred to as the ‘Green Book'. This is available via the Public Health England area of the Gov.uk website, or
	www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book
	This guidance is informed by advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, (JCVI), an independent Departmental expert committee and a statutory body constituted for the purpose of advising the Secretary of State on the provision of vaccination and immunisation services.
	RSV is the organism responsible for the majority of cases of bronchiolitis. There is no licensed vaccine available for RSV. However, preventative treatment for RSV is available by passive immunisation with protective antibodies to protect at risk infants over the winter months. Unlike vaccines such as MMR and whooping cough that are routinely given to all children, passive immunity provides only short-term protection and is only appropriate for at-risk pre-term infants for whom RSV infection is likely to cause serious illness or death.
	RSV passive immunisation is usually delivered in a secondary care setting during the RSV season. It is only recommended for young infants born prematurely and children under the age of two years who have predisposing conditions such as chronic lung disease, congenital heart disease or children who are immunodeficient, for whom RSV infection is likely to cause serious illness or death.
	There is research under way to develop a vaccine for RSV. When a licensed vaccine becomes available, it will be considered by the JCVI.

Skin Cancer

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS England has begun the process of considering the recommendation of the Cancer Drugs Fund Panel's decision in January 2014 that ipilimumab should be commissioned directly by NHS England through baseline commissioning as a first-line treatment for advanced melanoma.

Norman Lamb: NHS England has advised that the Chemotherapy Clinical Reference Group is in the process of considering the recommendation from the Cancer Drugs Fund panel that ipilimumab (Yervoy) should be considered for baseline commissioning as a first-line treatment for advanced melanoma.

Transplant Surgery: Lung Diseases

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) partial and (b) whole lung transplants have been performed in the last five years; and which conditions patients had that made them eligible for a lung transplant.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of lung transplants by primary cardiothoracic disease and transplant type in the United Kingdom, 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2013 
			  Transplant type  
			 Primary cardiothoracic disease Single Double lung Partial lung Total 
			 Other Heart Disease 0 1 0 1 
			 Primary Pulmonary Hypertension 0 25 0 25 
			 Cystic Fibrosis 0 235 1 236 
			 Fibrosing Lung Disease 91 70 0 161 
			 Inhalation 1 0 0 1 
			 Alpha-1-Antitrypsin deficiency 1 62 0 63 
			 Sarcoid 8 9 0 17 
			 Emphysema 20 225 0 245 
			 Bronchiectasis 0 31 0 31 
			 Immediate Graft 0 1 0 1 
			 Non-specific graft failure 1 3 0 4 
			 Bronchiolitis obliterans 0 12 0 12 
		
	
	
		
			 Other Congenital Heart/Lung Disease 0 4 0 4 
			 Other 25 43 0 68 
			 Unknown 0 1 0 1 
			 Not reported 2 1 0 3 
			 Total 149 723 1 873 
			 Source: NHSBT 
		
	
	Selection and allocation of organs are based on a balance of equity, need and benefit. At present, NHS Blood and Transplant allocates donated deceased lungs to designated transplant centres on a zonal basis, and the centre is responsible for selecting the patient. The transplant surgeon will assess both the donor lungs and potential recipients to find the best match.

Vaccination

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 202W, on vaccination, which (a) Minister and (b) senior civil servant in his Department is directly responsible for vaccination and vaccination policy.

Jane Ellison: I am, as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, the Minister with responsibility for vaccination and vaccination policy.
	The Director General of Public Health, Doctor Felicity Harvey, is the senior civil servant responsible for vaccination policy in the Department.
	Delivery of vaccination programmes is a shared responsibility between Public Health England and NHS England.
	Public Health England is responsible for national functions such as procuring, storing and distributing vaccines; developing and providing national implementation and communication strategies; and providing public health advice to NHS England and the Department.
	NHS England is accountable for the provision of routine immunisation programmes as part of the agreement with the Secretary of State, under section 7A of the National Health Service Act 2006, about public health functions to be exercised by NHS England on his behalf.

WORK AND PENSIONS

EU Migrants: Benefits

David Rutley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what changes he plans to make to the ability of EU migrants to access benefits.

Esther McVey: We have introduced a range of measures to tighten up our EEA migration rules to ensure our welfare system is not taken advantage of.
	Since December 2013 migrants have had to take a stronger, more robust habitual residence test if they want to claim income-related benefits.
	From 1 January 2014, EEA job seekers must have been living in the UK for three months before they can claim income-based jobseeker’s allowance.
	If they satisfy HRT a new statutory presumption will mean that EEA jobseekers and retained workers will then only be able to claim jobseeker’s allowance for six months. After six months, only those who have compelling evidence that they have a genuine prospect of finding work will be able to continue claiming.
	Since 1 March 2014 the minimum earnings threshold is helping to determine whether an EEA national’s previous or current work can be treated as genuine and effective in deciding whether they have a right to reside in the UK as a worker or a self employed person.
	From 1 April 2014 new EEA jobseekers will be unable to access housing benefits even if they are in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance.

Personal Independence Payment

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants have received the personal independence payment since April 2013.

Michael Penning: PIP is a brand new benefit that is replacing the broken DLA system, we published early management information on 11 February 2014. Between April and December 2013, around 22,000 new claimants had been given an award of PIP.

Personal Independence Payment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many personal independence payment applications have been processed in each month since April 2013.

Michael Penning: Personal independence payment started from April 2013 and although limited data have started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics on personal independence payment from spring 2014.
	An ad-hoc release of PIP information was published on Tuesday 11 February 2014.
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277986/adHoc-pip-statistics-feb14.pdf

Innovation Fund: Separated Families

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the performance of the innovation fund to support separated families.

Steve Webb: We are funding 17 projects to help and support separated families in various parts of the country and piloting a range of approaches. The schemes conclude by April 2015 after which we will publish a full, independent evaluation.

Welfare Payments

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish an assessment of the likely effect of the change to pensions announced in the 2014 Budget on the budget for welfare payments over the next ten years.

Steve Webb: The impact on welfare spending will depend on how people choose to use their savings; the choices people make may increase or decrease the likelihood of them being eligible for means tested benefits at some point in their retirement. However we are talking about people who have saved for their future and therefore we would expect the numbers choosing to rely solely on welfare benefits to be small.
	The introduction of the single-tier pension also means that the majority of people will have a state pension income above the basic means test.
	The details of the policy and the guidance offer are being developed and we are consulting on this.

Benefit Assessment Rulings

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what charges are incurred by those appealing against a benefit assessment ruling.

Michael Penning: This is a matter for the Ministry of Justice.
	They have no plans to introduce fees to bring an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (social security and child support).

Annuities

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of the provisions of the Consumer Rights Bill on the affordability of pensions annuities; and if he will make a statement.

Jennifer Willott: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Where financial services, such as pensions' annuities, are provided by a trader to a consumer under a contract then Chapter 4 (the Services Chapter) of the Consumer Rights Bill will apply. However, where there are other enactments which apply, for example those which are specific to financial services, the Chapter makes clear that those take precedence (in clause 53). Consumers will therefore still be protected by such sector specific enactments, as they are now. In the event of a problem, consumers may be entitled to redress through the Financial Ombudsman Service.
	The March 2014 Budget set out the Government's commitment to improving the pensions market. The reforms announced to the annuities market will further help to make those products more competitive and improve affordability for consumers.

Atos Healthcare: Beverley

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of average waiting times for Atos (a) personal independence payments and (b) work assessments in Beverley and Holderness constituency; and what steps he is taking to achieve a reduction in waiting times for such assessments.

Michael Penning: It is not possible to provide data on waiting times for personal independence payment and employment and support allowance claimants in the Beverley and Holderness constituency. Information for this specific geographical area is not routinely reported to DWP by Atos Healthcare.
	We announced in a written ministerial statement on 27 March our plans to achieve a reduction in waiting times and next steps. Atos Healthcare will be withdrawing from delivery of Work Capability Assessments in Great Britain before the end of the current contract.

Child Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of whether the unavailability of child benefit for 18-year-olds in receipt of jobseeker's allowance is discouraging the take-up of traineeships.

Esther McVey: Legislation prevents 18-year-olds who claim JSA claiming child benefit (if eligible) and vice versa. 18-year-olds claiming JSA can benefit from a traineeship. We are working to ensure that all young people who could benefit from a traineeship are able to do so.

Children: Maintenance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what powers the Child Support Agency has to investigate the weekly expenses of parents who are paying child maintenance;
	(2)  what his Department's policy is on whether receiving parents should be responsible for estimating the weekly expenses of the paying parent in the calculation of child maintenance entitlement.

Steve Webb: Section 14 of the Child Support Act 1991 and the Child Support Information Regulations 2008 provide the Child Support Agency and Child Maintenance Service with wide powers to obtain information from parents and third parties for the purpose of making decisions relating to child maintenance, including those decisions which relate to establishing the child maintenance of a Paying Parent.
	The Receiving Parent is not responsible for estimating the weekly expenses of a Paying Parent. The Child Maintenance Service, which administers the 2012 Scheme, is built to make best use of taxable income information that is regularly and reliably available from HMRC. However, in the 1993 and 2003 schemes, administered by the Child Support Agency, the Receiving Parent can sometimes be asked to provide evidence of expenditure in order to support an application for a variation on the grounds of “lifestyle inconsistent with declared income”.

Employment Schemes: Learning Disability

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to increase the number of people with learning disabilities in both part-time and full-time employment.

Michael Penning: We do not target our employment support exclusively at individuals with particular impairments. Instead, through a range of programmes, we aim to identify and meet the needs of the individual, including the needs of people with learning disabilities
	The Work programme is the biggest single Welfare to Work programme, which provides personalised back-to-work support for unemployed people, including disabled people. For those that have more complex needs, we have a range of specialist disability employment programmes, including Access to Work, Work Choice and Residential Training Colleges, all of which support people with learning difficulties to take up and remain in employment. In particular, Access to Work can provide funding towards tailored support for people with learning difficulties such as specialist aids, equipment and support workers.
	Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisers provide support and advice for disabled people who need help finding and retaining employment and refer individuals to specialist programmes, where appropriate.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to support young people into work.

Esther McVey: The Government's approach is working. For the 21st consecutive month we have seen the youth claimant count reduce. The Youth Contract is successfully providing young people with the support they require, building on support already available via Jobcentres and the Work Programme. Opportunities available to young people include Work Experience, Sector-based WorkAcademies, traineeships and intensive work searches.

Housing Benefit

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will amend the point at which housing benefit payments are halted or reduced when a claimant finds work to better take account of salaries that are paid in arrears.

Steve Webb: Provisions dealing with this issue already exist within the housing benefit regulations. A claimant who has been receiving a qualifying benefit1 for 26 weeks or more will continue to receive housing benefit for four weeks after they start work. Further details can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment _data/file/236973/hbgm-c5-extended-payments.pdf
	1 The qualifying benefits are: Income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance.

Housing Benefit

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many refuges are not classed as supported exempt accommodation for the purposes of housing benefit.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available. Designation as supported exempt accomodation is relevant only to claims by individuals for Housing Benefit and is not intrinsic to the definition or purpose of a refuge or other supported housing.

Housing Benefit

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the number of tenant evictions resulting from the decision to pay housing benefit direct to claimants rather than landlords.

Steve Webb: The Government do not expect an increase in the number of evictions in relation to the direct payments of housing benefit.
	Most tenants in the private rented sector are already used to receiving their housing payments directly, and managing their own finances.
	For other tenants, including many in the social rented sector, this will represent more of a change. We are working with the advice sector to ensure that claimants are able to access budgeting support services to help them to manage their money successfully. Money advice will be offered at a national and local level, and include a mix of online, telephone and face to face services.
	A minority of claimants may require alternative payment arrangements. This might include paying rent direct to the landlord, making payments more frequently than monthly, or splitting the payment for a couple.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Disqualification

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in receipt of jobseeker's allowance were sanctioned for failing to complete their job search evidence form on 25 December 2013.

Esther McVey: Claimants are expected to do all that is reasonable within full time working hours in any week to look for work and this is not restricted to specific days.
	Claimants with sincerely held religious beliefs can restrict their availability during religious festivals and holidays.

Public Expenditure

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what change there has been in his Department's data entry spending in the last year; and what the reasons are for any such change;
	(2)  what the cost to his Department was of data entry used under universal credit in each quarter since 2010;
	(3)  how many staff his Department has employed in data entry roles relating to universal credit in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Lancashire in each quarter since 2010.

Michael Penning: There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the Department can be reliably estimated.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in temporary accommodation were subject to the benefit cap between 1 April 2013 and 31 January 2014.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in receipt of (a) income support, (b) jobseeker's allowance and (c) employment and support allowance were subject to the benefit cap between 1 April 2013 and 31 January 2014.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many single parents with a child under the age of five years old were subject to the benefit cap between 1 April 2013 and 31 January 2014.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who were temporarily exempt from the benefit cap due to their housing benefit being reduced were in temporary accommodation between April 2013 and January 2014.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available. People whose housing benefit entitlement is reduced such that their overall benefit falls below the cap threshold are not subject to the cap.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many additional households in temporary accommodation became subject to the benefit cap on flow in each month between May 2013 and January 2014.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants have been sanctioned for (a) four weeks, (b) three months and (c) three years (i) nationally and (ii) in Oldham in the last year.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

State Retirement Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the upper limit will be of the amount of state pension top-up people can buy.

Steve Webb: As announced in the Budget 2014, the maximum amount of additional state pension that individuals can obtain under the state pension top-up scheme (class 3A) will be £25 per week. We intend to make details available shortly of the contribution rates by age for each £1 per week of additional pension.

State Retirement Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the top-up of state pensions for each of the next 20 financial years;
	(2)  what assessment he made of the effect of the option for people to top up their state pension on state pensions expenditure.

Steve Webb: Estimates were made of both the future AME expenditure and the revenue from contributions in 2015-16 and 2016-17 which would determine future state pension expenditure levels. Estimates made by the Department were certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Figures for the medium term impacts in cash terms were published on page 46 in Budget 2014: policy costings available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/295067/PU1638_policy_costings_bud _2014_with_correction_slip.pdf
	Further information on the long-term Exchequer impact in 2013-14 price terms is included in the following table. As noted in the policy costings document, there is uncertainty about levels of take-up of this policy. If take-up was higher than assumed both AME and Revenue would increase and if take-up was lower than assumed then both would decrease.
	
		
			  AME Revenue 
			 2014-15 0 0 
			 2015-16 -15 +415 
			 2016-17 -50 +410 
			 2017-18 -65 0 
			 2018-19 -65 0 
			 2019-20 -60 0 
			 2020-21 -60 0 
			 2021-22 -55 0 
			 2022-23 -55 0 
			 2023-24 -55 0 
			 2024-25 -50 0 
			 2025-26 -45 0 
			 2026-27 -45 0 
			 2027-28 -40 0 
			 2028-29 -40 0 
			 2029-30 -35 0 
			 2030-31 -35 0 
			 2031-32 -30 0 
			 2032-33 -30 0 
			 2033-34 -25 0 
			 Note: Figures are in £ million, 2013-14 price terms, rounded to nearest £5 million.

Trade Unions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

Michael Penning: DWP is undertaking a review of check-off, along with other Departments. We have not reached a conclusion on this matter, but it is under active consideration.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons he has not yet placed the business case for universal credit in the public domain.

Esther McVey: In line with standard practice, as the universal credit business case includes details of a sensitive nature the Department will not be putting the business case into the public domain.

Universal Credit

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the overall cost to his Department of data entry associated with universal credit.

Michael Penning: There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the Department can be reliably estimated.

Vacancies: Internet

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2014, Official Report, column 233W, on vacancies: internet, what additional checks and safeguards for jobseekers have been introduced in each year since the launch of Universal Jobmatch.

Esther McVey: Since Universal Jobmatch was launched in November 2012, we have introduced additional checks on all new vacancies placed by new employer accounts.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2014, Official Report, column 547W, on the Work Programme, if he will place in the Library the draft findings of the Work Programme evaluation received by his Department in August 2013.

Esther McVey: The evaluation of the Work Programme is still on-going, and the Department will publish findings once it is completed.

Work Programme

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the capability of the Work programme to provide adequate support to jobseekers with long-term medical conditions.

Esther McVey: The Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the Work programme, and will publish findings once the evaluation is complete.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he has in place to establish the extent to which work programme providers have assisted participants to improve their literacy and numeracy skills.

Esther McVey: The Work Programme is designed to be flexible and tailored to each individual, with some participants requiring more support than others which may include assistance in improving their literacy and numeracy skills. The Department has a robust performance management regime which includes assurance of service delivery at individual participant level.

Youth Services

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the work of his Department's youth hubs.

Esther McVey: Youth hubs have been set up in some locations under our Freedoms and Flexibilities policy where local managers judge they would be an effective way of supporting young people. There has been positive feedback on them but evaluation is a matter for local managers.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department’s policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

Jennifer Willott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

Apprentices: Essex

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many workplaces in (a) Harlow constituency and (b) Essex employed an apprentice in each of the last five year.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows the number of workplaces (site level) in Harlow parliamentary constituency and Essex local education authority that employed apprentices from 2010/11 to 2012/13. Information for earlier years is not readily available.
	
		
			 Table 1: Workplaces that employed apprentices by geography, 2010/11 to 2012/13 
			  2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 
			 Harlow Parliamentary Constituency 300 300 400 
		
	
	
		
			 Essex Local Education Authority 4,300 5,100 5,800 
			 Notes: 1. The figures are a count of the number of individual workplaces (site level). 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 3. Geographic information is based on the delivery location of the apprenticeship. Note that some workplaces deliver apprenticeships in more than one location. Source: Individualised Learner Record

Assets: Russia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the value of UK non-financial assets held in Russia.

Michael Fallon: The information is not held in the format requested and I regret that it cannot be provided in the timescale of this answer.
	The Office of National Statistics publishes data on Foreign Direct Investment from the UK, including into Russia, broken down by sector but not by asset type. This can be found here:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/fdi/foreign-direct-investment/2012-ma4/stb-fdi-ma4-2012.html

Assets: Russia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the value of Russian non-financial assets held in the UK.

Michael Fallon: The information is not held in the format requested and I regret that it cannot be provided in the timescale of this answer.
	The Office of National Statistics publishes data on Foreign Direct Investment in the UK, including from Russia, broken down by sector but not by asset type. This can be found here:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/fdi/foreign-direct-investment/2012-ma4/stb-fdi-ma4-2012.html

Beer: Competition

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he intends to publish a response to the consultation on pub companies and tenants.

Jennifer Willott: The Government received over 1,100 written responses to the consultation on pub companies and their tenants and over 7,000 responses to the online survey conducted in parallel. We are considering the evidence carefully, to ensure that intervention is both proportionate and targeted, and we intend to publish a Government Response to the consultation as soon as we can.

Business Premises: Inspections

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what discussions he has had about the 48-hour notice period that Trading Standards must give when attending retail premises in relation to inspections; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what representations he has received about the 48-hour notice period that Trading Standards must give when attending retail premises in relation to inspections; and if he will make a statement.

Jennifer Willott: The Consumer Rights Bill introduces a requirement for consumer law enforcers, such as Trading Standards, to give notice before carrying out routine inspections of private commercial premises without a warrant. This requirement is subject to a number of exemptions, such as where giving notice would defeat the purpose of the visit or where there is a reasonable suspicion of a breach. The Department received a number of representations and had a number of discussions on this issue with businesses, enforcement bodies and consumer groups following the Consultation on Consumer Law Enforcement Powers, also following the Government's response to the consultation and during pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Consumer Rights Bill ahead of the Bill's introduction to Parliament.
	The Government have carefully considered the views of all these stakeholders and are confident that the powers and added safeguards, together with the exemptions to giving notice strike the right balance between protecting civil liberties, reducing the burdens on businesses, particularly small businesses, and enabling effective enforcement.

Business: Billing

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the average amount owed to small firms in late payment.

Matthew Hancock: Research undertaken by Bacs in 2013 put the national level of late payment at £30.2 billion, with small businesses on average owed £31,000.

Business: Billing

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  which FTSE350 companies that he wrote to in November 2012 asking them to sign up to the Prompt Payment Code have failed to do so;
	(2)  which FTSE350 companies his Department has named and shamed for non-adherence to the Prompt Payment Code; and when each such action was taken.

Matthew Hancock: A list of the FTSE 350 companies that had not signed up to the Prompt Payment Code was published on the Prompt Payment Code website on 4 March 2013:
	http://ppc.promptpaymentcode.org.uk/ppc/news.a4d
	Since then, a further 274 businesses have signed up to the Prompt Payment Code including a number of FTSE 350 companies. A full list of signatories to the Prompt Payment Code is publicly available on the Prompt Payment Code website:
	http://ppc.promptpaymentcode.org.uk/ppc/signatory_paged. a4d

Business: Government Assistance

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that student entrepreneurs can access support and guidance when setting up their first businesses.

Matthew Hancock: The home for Government services and information online is:
	www.gov.uk.
	One tool widely available is the “Finance Finder”, a searchable database of publicly-backed sources of finance. The website:
	www.greatbusiness.gov.uk
	not only provides support and advice for businesses trying to grow, but for entrepreneurs just starting out. The National Careers Service can help individuals explore the opportunities for self-employment and direct them to specialist resources such as the Business Support Helpline. The helpline is available to provide a quick response on queries about starting a business, or a personalised and in-depth advice service for more complex needs.
	For those looking for initial finance and advice there is the Start-Up Loans Programme which has already committed over £80 million of funding. Enterprise Societies and the Entrepreneurs and Education Programme for further education colleges and universities also provide advice on the skills to start a business and how to secure funding.

Business: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on maintaining the requirement for quoted companies to report on their greenhouse gas emissions.

Jennifer Willott: This requirement was part of the reforms to narrative reporting made by this Government that came into force in October 2013. I have no plans to amend this requirement at this time.

Children: Day Care

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of the provisions of the Consumer Rights Bill on access to, quality of and cost of child care provision; and if he will make a statement;

Jennifer Willott: Where child care services are provided by a trader (eg a nursery school) to a consumer (eg a parent) under a contract, then Chapter 4 (the Services Chapter) of the Consumer Rights Bill will apply.
	This chapter requires that these traders provide services with reasonable care and skill and in line with certain information given about the service. If that is not the case, the chapter sets out remedies which the consumer is entitled to, such as a repeat performance or, failing that, a reduction in price. Consumers may also be entitled to damages under the common law and the Bill makes this clear. Where there are other enactments which apply, this chapter makes clear that those take precedence (clause 53), which ensures that current standards still apply where they are set out in existing enactments.
	In the case of child care vouchers offered under an employer-supported child care scheme, the contract for provision of child care is between the parent (consumer) and the child care provider (the trader), therefore child care provided using the voucher scheme is covered by this chapter of the Consumer Rights Bill.
	We expect that, overall, consumers will benefit from the proposed reforms to the services regime. We estimate quantified benefits of £33 million per annum, of which £9 million is from the reduced risk of consumer detriment. In addition to these quantified benefits there are a range of economic benefits that have not been quantified. The reforms would deliver market-wide changes through promoting confident consumers, experimenting with new products or services and switching suppliers, which in turn should drive innovation, greater competitiveness and deliver new opportunities for economic growth.
	The Government are also committed to improving the accessibility, affordability and quality of child care. To that end we are encouraging schools to offer more nursery provision, making it easier for people to take up childminding by introducing childminder agencies, and have introduced a new entitlement to funded early education for the least advantaged two-year-olds.

Companies: Registration

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress has been made on the public register of beneficial ownership of companies operating in the UK.

Jennifer Willott: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published the “Transparency and Trust” discussion paper in July 2013. In it, we sought views on a range of questions relating to implementation of the central registry of UK company beneficial ownership information, which will be publicly accessible. We are carefully considering the responses received to the discussion paper and continuing to engage with a wide range of interested parties. We will publish a formal Government response shortly. It remains our intention to legislate as soon as parliamentary time permits.

Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to encourage businesses to implement and abide by the code of the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) is a non-profit association incorporated in the United States and enrolment is voluntary. The Government do not have any plans to encourage business to implement and abide by the EICC code.
	The UK Government support corporate responsibility, for example encouraging greater levels of employer supported volunteering, promoting well-being within the workplace and promoting human rights due diligence within business. There are also a number of UK-based organisations providing advice on how business can adopt responsible business practices, such as Business in the Community (www.bitc.org.uk), the Institute for Business Ethics (www.ibe.org.uk) and Trading for Good (www.tradingforgood.co.uk) which is aimed at the SME sector. BIS invited views on corporate responsibility during 2013 and the response to this will be published shortly.

Foreign Investment in UK

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 9 September 2013, Official Report, column 643W, on foreign investments in UK, what the value of foreign direct investment was in each region of the UK in each year since 1984.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment has collected data on foreign direct investment (FDI) projects landing in each region of the United Kingdom since 1984. The value of each project is reported in terms of new jobs created or safeguarded, and capital expenditure. This value is estimated by the foreign company.
	Tables showing the official record of FDI projects landing in each region of the UK, from the financial years 1984/85 to 2012/13, will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Foreign Investment in UK: North East

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of inward investment initiatives by the seven local authorities in the North East of England; how much has been spent on those initiatives in the last financial year; and what their outcomes have been.

Michael Fallon: Spending which LEPs or local authorities undertake on foreign direct investment initiatives is independent of Government and is not centrally-funded.
	In each LEP area inward investment success is measured according to numbers of projects won and jobs created or safeguarded. In the financial year from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 results were as follows for the North Eastern LEP area:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Project successes 26 
			 New or safeguarded jobs 2,203

Higher Education

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the (a) overall resource for undergraduate teaching, (b) Higher Education Funding Council for England grant for teaching and (c) estimated and actual fee income from students was at (i) the University of York, (ii) the University of York St. John and (iii) all universities in England in each year since 2004-05.

David Willetts: Statistics on the resource available for undergraduate teaching at the University of York, York St John University, and all higher education institutions in England between 2004/05 and 2012/13 have been provided by the Higher Education Funding Council and are included in the table which will be placed in the Libraries of the House. Estimates of fee income are not available for individual institutions and, as a result, have been omitted from the answer. The Overall Resource for undergraduate teaching is the sum of undergraduate fee income and undergraduate teaching grant.

Higher Education

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will limit the number of (a) alternative learning providers and (b) students studying at alternative learning providers over the next 10 years.

David Willetts: The Government’s policy is to offer students more choice by increasing the range and type of study opportunities that are available to them. Encouraging new alternative providers into the market place is one of the ways that we will achieve that. It is too early to forecast the impact of the higher educations reforms on the overall number of alternative providers. Some may choose to exit the market, others will enter it.
	We have already announced that student number controls will apply to alternative providers in 2014/15. We will announce our policy for future years in due course. However, we will retain controls on those providers which we regard as representing the greatest risk to students or the public purse.

Higher Education: Admissions

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to ensure that universities admit more students from disadvantaged backgrounds whose qualifications meet university admissions requirements.

David Willetts: Higher education (HE) institutions are independent, autonomous bodies and they are responsible for all decisions on student admissions. The Government have no legal power to intervene.
	The Chancellor's autumn statement in 2013 announced that for 2014/15, we will make an additional 30,000 places available at publicly-funded higher education institutions, and remove student number controls from 2015/16. This will support wider access to higher education, with a clear trend in recent years that overall growth in student numbers has seen an increase in the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
	We have established a new framework with increased responsibility placed on universities to widen access. As part of this the independent Office for Fair Access (OFFA) agreed 162 Access Agreements for 2014/15, with plans for universities to spend more than £680 million on outreach and other activities to widen access, rising to over £700 million by 2017/18.
	BIS Ministers asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and OFFA to develop a shared strategy for promoting access which maximizes the impact of all the spending by Government, HEFCE and institutions. An interim report was published in March 2013, and we intend to publish the full report shortly.

Higher Education: Islwyn

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in each (a) age group and (b) parental income group resident in Islwyn constituency entered higher education in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

David Willetts: Higher education in Wales is a devolved matter. This information should be requested from the Welsh Government, or directly from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the body responsible for collecting and publishing data on students at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). Full UK statistics, including data relating to age and disadvantage measures (although not strictly income-based), are available on request from HESA and further information can be found at:
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/

Higher Education: Private Sector

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what change he expects in the number of private providers of higher education in England and Wales in the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Government's policy is to offer students more choice by increasing the range and type of study opportunities that are available to them. Encouraging new alternative providers into the market place is one of the ways that we will achieve that. It is too early to forecast the impact of the higher educations reforms on the overall number of alternative providers. Some may choose to exit the market, others will enter it.

Higher Education: Scholarships

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to make the UK a priority destination for the King Abdullah university scholarship programme.

David Willetts: Saudi Arabia is a UK priority country for higher education engagement and the King Abdullah Scholarship Programme (KASP) is an important part of this.
	Promotion of the UK as a study destination for the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP) was a key aim during my visit to Saudi Arabia in late 2011, where I met the Minister of Higher Education. Following this visit a taskforce was established comprising BIS and representatives from the UK higher education sector to liaise with the Saudi Arabia Cultural Bureau in London (SACB) to increase the UK's attractiveness.
	The taskforce has since met twice a year and its next meeting is in May 2014. In addition we have worked with the higher education sector to support inward visits of senior government officials from Saudi Arabia, including the Deputy Higher Education Minister, to showcase the quality of the UK's educational offer. There have also been outward visits by UK institutions to meet with the Director General of the King Abdullah Scholarship Programme.
	In January 2014, Her Majesty's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, John Jenkins, met with Saudi Arabia's Minister of Higher Education and in February, I attended the UK-Saudi ministerial meeting on a joint Technical Cooperation Agreement, which included higher education areas of interest. Outcomes from both meetings were positive.
	BIS is now working on establishing an overarching government to government agreement on science and higher education cooperation with Saudi Arabia. We expect that this will provide further opportunities to promote the UK as priority destination for KASP students.

Higher Education: Student Numbers

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students were in higher education in Rossendale and Darwen constituency in 2013.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). In the academic year 2012/13 there were 3,430 enrolments at UK HEIs who were domiciled in Rossendale and Darwin constituency prior to their course.
	Information for the 2013/14 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2015.

INEOS

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with INEOS on its refusal to recognise a trade union at the Grangemouth refinery.

Jennifer Willott: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has not had any discussions with INEOS in relation to recognition of trade unions at Grangemouth.
	BIS officials have had discussions with INEOS about Grangemouth. INEOS have informed them that Unite remains the recognised union on site.

Intellectual Property

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consideration he has given to amending the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 to remove section 1(c) of schedule 1 on intellectual property contracts.

Jennifer Willott: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with responsibility for Intellectual Property (Viscount Younger of Leckie) has received representations on a proposal to amend the Consumer Rights Bill to bring business-to-business intellectual property contracts within the scope of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.
	It was concluded that there was insufficient evidence to justify this amendment. In addition, the Consumer Rights Bill was not thought to be the most appropriate vehicle to make any such change, as it deals primarily with business-to-consumer contracts.

Intellectual Property

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received in favour of the inclusion of intellectual property contracts in the Consumer Rights Bill.

Jennifer Willott: The Consumer Rights Bill was subject to consultation in 2012 and then invited comments again after the publication of a draft Bill in 2013. Neither of those exercises produced support for extending Part 2 of the Bill (Unfair Terms) to business-to-business intellectual property contracts, or for amending the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 to cover such contracts.
	On 16 July 2013 my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with responsibility for Intellectual Property (Viscount Younger of Leckie) met with the Creators Rights Alliance who raised this issue in that meeting and in an exchange of letters which followed. In March 2014 he exchanged letters with the National Union of Journalists on the same issue.

Intellectual Property

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps the Intellectual Property Office has taken to promote existing protected but underused intellectual property to companies that may be interested in taking it up.

David Willetts: Intellectual property (IP) is privately owned and it is a commercial decision for any rights holder as to whether they wish to license or surrender their rights. It is therefore not open to the Government to make it available to others to use.
	However, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) promotes better use of IP assets through advice and guidance on how businesses can manage their IP more effectively and make the most of opportunities such as licensing of IP that they are not currently using. The IP Audits Plus programme, for example, provides bespoke advice to high growth businesses on how to use intellectual property to benefit their business. The IPO has also provided funding for a number of initiatives designed to promote access to underused IP, for example the Easy Access IP initiative which makes unused university IP freely available to potential investors through simple one page licensing agreements.

Manufacturing Industries

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to assist the manufacturing sector and promote an export-led recovery in the economy.

Michael Fallon: The Government are helping and advising UK manufacturers to grow in a number of ways. The Government-led Manufacturing Advisory Service provides tailor-made practical support from industry experts on all aspects of manufacturing
	www.mymas.org/services
	The ‘GREAT' campaign
	www.greatbusiness.gov.uk
	or
	www.gov.uk
	provides eligible businesses with expert support, information and guidance in areas such as funding, staffing and expanding a business.
	As part of Budget 2014, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that energy intensive industries will benefit from a £7 billion package to help them cut their energy bills. As well as this, the annual investment allowance will increase to £500,000 until 31 December 2015. This is designed to stimulate business investment in the economy by providing an extended time-limited incentive for businesses to invest in plant or machinery.
	AMSCI (the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative) is a £245 million funding competition designed to improve the global competitiveness and resilience of UK advanced manufacturing supply chains. We now have four active national rounds alongside a regional scheme. The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, has confirmed that there will be future rounds.
	We have put in place high quality partnerships for each of the 11 key sectors at the heart of the industrial strategy. Early successes include the Aerospace Technology Institute and the Advanced Propulsion Centre. Seven “Catapult” innovation and technology centres have been launched with over £200 million of government investment. The High Value Manufacturing Catapult in particular is the catalyst for the future growth and success of manufacturing in the UK.
	Through our reforms to apprenticeships we are encouraging employers to offer more opportunities in engineering. Trailblazers, led by employers and professional bodies, will deliver new apprenticeships standards for a number of occupations across sectors including aerospace, automotive, electrotechnical and energy and utilities.
	At the Davos World Economic Forum in January, the Prime Minister announced that UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the Manufacturing Advisory Service were joining forces to launch Reshore UK-a one-stop service to help companies bring production back to UK. Reshore UK is up and running, offering for example a matching and location service supported by continuous advice from a named member of staff.
	UKTI also provide expert trade advice support to UK-based companies wishing to grow their business overseas. In 2012/13 UKTI supported 31,880 businesses, 90% of which were SMEs and this support helped generate additional sales of some £50.9 billion.
	The UK's exports have grown from £270 billion in 2000 to more than £500 billion in 2013, an 87% increase in this period. During a series of ‘Export Week' events taking place around the UK from 7-11 April, trade experts will offer seminars, workshops and market briefings to provide practical advice on expanding worldwide.

New Businesses: Government Assistance

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he was first made aware that individuals were being awarded start up loans without business plans, cash flow forecasts and credit checks being required.

Matthew Hancock: The Government were made aware of an accusation by an individual via BBC local radio on 27 November 2013 that the level of scrutiny provided by one partner was insufficient for proving the viability of a loan proposition. The Start-Up Loans Company responded to this accusation at the time.
	It is for the Start-Up Loans Company to work with its partners to ensure that a proper assessment has been made of the viability and affordability of any proposition, in whatever form that assessment might take to provide the necessary level of assurance to make a decision.
	The decision to introduce mandatory credit checking from 1 October 2013 reflects this commitment to ensuring that the business has the best chance of succeeding and the individual taking on the loan is able to survive on the income it generates.
	Start-Up Loans is designed to support those ordinarily unable to access finance from a high street bank. As such, it is inevitable that many will have adverse data in their credit histories. The key test remains the viability of the business proposal and the ability of the applicant to make it work. On that basis, the Start-Up Loans Company does not permit an adverse credit check to be the sole reason for declining a loan.

Pay: Kilmarnock

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who are paid at least (a) the minimum wage and (b) the amount defined by the Living Wage Foundation as a living wage.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office:
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker, dated March 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who are paid at least (a) the minimum wage and (b) the amount defined by the Living Wage Foundation as a living wage. (193706)
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Hourly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. Estimates with respect to the national minimum wage are not available below Regions for reasons of quality. With regard to the Living Wage, although it is not possible to estimate the number of people with earnings above this threshold, it is possible to estimate the corresponding proportion of employee jobs. Figures relate to employee jobs, which are defined as those held by employees and not the self-employed.
	In April 2013, the latest period for which results are available, the Living Wage rates suggested by the Living Wage Foundation were £8.55 for employees who worked in London and £7.45 for employees who did not work in London. At this time, the proportion of jobs in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency with hourly earnings excluding overtime of at least £7.45 was 78.8%**.
	Guide to quality:
	The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220.
	Key
	* CV >5% and <= 10%
	**CV >10% and <= 20%

Personal Injury: Insurance

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answers to topical question T1 of 23 January 2014, Official Report, column 434, if he will request the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate to pass to the Gangmasters Licensing Authority the details it holds on the personal accident insurance schemes operated by those employment agencies referred to in the answers.

Jennifer Willott: The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) inspectorate investigation has now been concluded. All of the agencies, who were named in the complaint, co-operated fully with the EAS investigators.
	EAS is satisfied that enough information was given to the work-seekers to allow them to decide if the personal insurance product was suitable for them and that work-seekers were not forced to join the scheme in order to be found work by the agencies.
	One of the agencies named in the House on 23 January 2014 had never, in fact, offered or sold personal accident insurance. Another was fully compliant.
	Minor technical breaches of the regulations were found in some of the agencies' paperwork. These breaches related to minor gaps in the provision of information to the work-seekers in relation to setting out entitlement to refunds. These agencies were sent warning letters which set out the breaches and the corrective action they must take to address them. They have all demonstrated compliance, or have confirmed that they are in the process of making changes in order to comply.
	A formal information sharing gateway already exists between the Gangmasters Licensing Authority and EAS. Where there are issues or concerns raised with EAS, which are also of interest to the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority can approach EAS through well established channels and relevant information will be shared.

Railways: Manufacturing Industries

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps his Department has taken to support the rail manufacturing industry.

Michael Fallon: The Government have provided specific support for the rail sector as follows:
	two funding calls by the Technology Strategy Board related to innovation in rail, joint funding totalling £3.5 million from this Department and the Department of Transport to the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering (NSARE) to establish the Traction and Rolling Stock Training Academy; and
	support under round 3 of the Regional Growth Fund to transform the Siemens facility at Hebburn into a site specialising in the manufacture of rolling stock components.
	Companies in the rail manufacturing sector can access help and advice to grow their business through ‘GREAT’:
	www.greatbusiness.gov.uk
	or
	www.gov.uk
	Eligible businesses can gain support in areas such as running, funding, staffing and expanding a business. The Government-funded Manufacturing Advisory Service provides practical support on all aspects of manufacturing, including direct access to manufacturing experts with a proven track record:
	www.mymas.org/services
	There is also support available from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) for those companies wishing to grow through international trade.
	In addition, we have established the Rail Supply Group, which will bring together Government (this Department and the Department for Transport) and industry to maximise the economic potential of the UK rail sector. Terence Watson, the UK President of Alstom, will be the industry co-chair of the group. He is currently working closely with industry and Government stakeholders to consider the membership, operation and initial priorities of the group.
	The group will deliver significant benefits including:
	providing us with a better understanding of the capability of UK suppliers to inform our rail investment plans and identify where Government support or intervention is required;
	building the capability of UK suppliers so that they are more likely to win work both here and abroad;
	reducing the risk of UK suppliers facing “feast and famine” in their order books and providing early warning of potential problems;
	improving how Government and industry promote UK capability overseas; and
	addressing an emerging skills gap as older workers retire and rail systems become more complex.
	Ultimately, a more innovative and capable UK supply chain that has a clearer understanding of Government policies and investment plans should result in lower industry costs and a better, more reliable railway.

Students: Fees and Charges

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings officials in his Department have had with representatives of (a) students and (b) higher education providers and universities on the implications of the Consumer Rights Bill for fee-paying students; and what the Civil Service grades of officials present were.

David Willetts: There have been no meetings with student representatives, higher education providers and universities on the implications of the Consumer Rights Bill. BIS consulted widely on consumer law reform in 2008 and 2012, and published a draft Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny in 2013. BIS has also completed full impact assessments for the provisions in the Bill.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the resource, accounting and budgeting charge is for student loans issued (a) to those on the new funding regime, (b) in 2013-14 and (c) in 2012-13.

David Willetts: We estimate that the resource accounting and budgeting charge for loans issued to those who began study on the new funding regime is around 45%, for both 2012/13 and 2013/14.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what revisions have been made to the fair value of student loans issued under the previous funding regime.

David Willetts: Loans are valued at amortised cost, net of expected impairments, in the BIS accounts. Loans already issued and held on the BIS balance sheet will be revalued as at 31 March 2014, they will be subject to independent audit and published this summer. While this process is underway it would be premature to put a valuation on the loan book.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the (a) face and (b) fair value of existing student loans.

David Willetts: As at 31 March 2013, the face value of student loans was around £45 billion and the carrying value was £31 billion.
	Loans are valued at amortised cost, net of expected impairments, in the BIS accounts. Loans already issued and held on the BIS balance sheet will be revalued as at 31 March 2014, they will be subject to independent audit and published this summer. While this process is underway it would be premature to put a valuation on the loan book.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the resource, accounting and budgeting charge is for student loans issued (a) those who started study before September 2012, (b) in 2013-14 and (c) in 2012-13.

David Willetts: We estimate that the resource accounting and budgeting charge for loans issued to those who began study before September 2012 is between 40-45%, for both 2012/13 and 2013/14.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether additional funding allocated to the higher RAB charge will come out of non-ringfenced DEL.

David Willetts: RAB charges are managed in accordance with the consolidated budgeting guidance. This Department and HM Treasury have agreed a target RAB and stock charge for post Browne loans in each financial year. If either charge increases above the target level (set at 36% for 2013-14) it will be split between BIS resource DEL and BIS resource AME budgets according to the new framework agreement. This target forms part of a framework to incentivise the Department to manage the long-term costs of the system.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department’s total resource DEL has been increased as a result of the higher RAB charge for student loans.

David Willetts: Student loan repayments are managed annually under Government budgeting rules and any changes, for whatever reason, in forecast repayments, are considered as part of the parliamentary supply process.
	Additional supply was agreed between this Department and HM Treasury, and approved by Parliament as part of the 2013-14 supplementary estimates process.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost to the public purse is of the higher RAB charge for student loans.

David Willetts: By 2015-16, once almost all higher education students are on the 2012 system, the cash outlay on student loans to full-time undergraduates is likely to be around £12 billion per year. Each percentage point increase in the RAB charge therefore equates to an expected increase in annual resource costs of around £120 million.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what the RAB charge for loans issued to those on the new funding regime is for student loans issued in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2012-13;
	(2)  what the RAB charge is for student loans issued to those who started university before September 2012 for loans issued in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2012-13.

David Willetts: I refer the right hon. Member to the answers I am giving today in reply to his parliamentary questions 193232 and 193225.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent change there has been to the fair value of previously issued student loans; and what the current (a) face value and (b) fair value of existing student loans is.

David Willetts: In accordance with accounting standards, student loans are valued at amortised cost net of expected impairments in the BIS accounts, not fair value. The last audited face value of loans issued and held on the BIS balance sheet as at 31 March 2013 was £46 billion (a) and the carrying value was £31 billion (b). This will be revalued as at 31 March 2014 and published this summer.

Taxation: Environment Protection

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many energy-intensive industries have received compensation for the carbon price floor and EU Emissions Trading System to date; and what the total monetary value of this compensation was.

Michael Fallon: In total 53 companies have received compensation for the indirect costs of the EU Emissions Trading System and we have paid £30 million to date. No compensation has been paid for the indirect costs of the Carbon Price Floor as we are awaiting the final decision from the Commission on our state aid case which I remain hopeful we will receive shortly.

Taxation: Environment Protection

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the number of energy intensive businesses in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland which will benefit from compensation for higher prices resulting from the renewables obligation and small scale feed-in tariffs.

Michael Fallon: The details of these schemes, including which products and sectors would be eligible is still to be decided. This will be informed by the revised environmental and energy aid guidelines which the European Commission will be publishing later this spring.

Trade Unions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

Jennifer Willott: I am not undertaking a review of the Department's check-off arrangements and have no plans to undertake a review.

Unfair Practices

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consideration he has given to amending the Consumer Rights Bill to provide greater protection for creators against unfair contracts.

Jennifer Willott: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with responsibility for intellectual property (Viscount Younger of Leckie) has received representations on a proposal to amend the Consumer Rights Bill so that part 2 (Unfair Terms) applies to business-to-business intellectual property contracts, or alternatively to use the Bill to bring such contracts within the scope of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.
	It was concluded that there was insufficient evidence to justify this amendment. The Consumer Rights Bill was not thought to be an appropriate vehicle to make this change, as the Bill deals primarily with business-to-consumer contracts. However, where creators fit the definition of “consumer” within the Bill they will benefit from the provisions in part 2 (Unfair Terms) including, where applicable, the fairness test.

Vocational Training

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many traineeships have been taken up in each parliamentary constituency since their introduction.

Matthew Hancock: Provisional information on the number of traineeship starts in 2013/14 is published online:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-other-statistics-and-research
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/298351/traineeship-data-note-march14.pdf

Working Hours

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of employees in his Department of each (a) civil service pay grade and (b) gender work (i) reduced hours, (ii) flexi-time, (iii) from home, (iv) a compressed working week, (v) job share, (vi) term-time only and (vii) part-time.

Jennifer Willott: The following table (A) details the proportion of staff by grade and the proportion by grade working part time and full time. The following table (B) details the proportion of staff by gender and the proportion working part time and full time. The Department does not currently centrally hold details of the other categories of working pattern requested. There would be disproportionate cost to collect the data.
	
		
			 Table A 
			 Percentage 
			 Grade level Staff by grade Full time Part time 
			 AA Level 0.50 100.00 0.00 
			 AO Level 5.03 85.47 14.53 
			 EO Level 12.16 89.90 10.10 
			 HEO Level 23.99 91.84 8.16 
			 SEO Level 13.94 91.19 8.81 
			 G7 Level 25.63 88.03 11.97 
			 G6 Level 10.46 84.08 15.92 
			 G5 Level 6.05 86.47 13.53 
			 G3 Level 1.87 90.63 9.38 
			 G2 Level 0.32 90.91 9.09 
			 G1 Level 0.06 100.00 0.00 
			 Grand total 100.00 89.10 10.90 
		
	
	
		
			 Table B 
			 Percentage 
			 Gender Total staff Full time Part time 
			 Female 47.08 79.95 20.05 
			 Male 52.92 97.24 2.76 
			  100.00 89.10 10.90

JUSTICE

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

Simon Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

Assets: Russia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  if he will seek an estimate from the (a) Bailiwick of Jersey and (b) Bailiwick of Guernsey of the value of Russian (a) financial and (b) non-financial assets held in each such territory;
	(2)  if he take steps to extend the requirement to apply sanctions set out in Council Regulation (EU) 269/2014 to the (a) Bailiwick of Jersey and (b) Bailiwick of Guernsey.

Shailesh Vara: The Crown Dependencies are not part of the UK but are self-governing dependencies of the Crown. This means they have their own directly elected legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems and their own courts of law. It is therefore not for the UK to extend the application of the sanctions set out in the Council Regulation (EU) 269/2014. Equivalent measures have been implemented by the Crown Dependencies, who have kept Her Majesty's Government updated about their activities in this area.
	Her Majesty's Government do not routinely request information on the value of particular assets held in the Crown Dependencies.
	The UK and the Crown Dependencies recognise the importance of working together to promote the application of high international standards and implementing sanctions and asset freezing measures.

Courts: Nottinghamshire

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons Worksop Courthouse is planned to close.

Shailesh Vara: There are no plans to close the courthouse at Worksop. A consultation is currently under way on potential changes to listing arrangements at Worksop magistrates court. The consultation commenced on 19 March 2014 and closes on 30 April 2014 and all responses will be taken into account before any decision is made.

Crime: Nature Conservation

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in England have been (a) charged with and (b) convicted of offences concerning the illegal wildlife trade in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The number of defendants proceeded against and found guilty of triable either way offences under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species Regulation 1997, together with Intentionally obstruct an authorised person acting in accordance with the powers conferred by Regulation, under Section 9(6) of the regulations, in England and Wales from 2011 to 2012 can be viewed in the table. Please note data for the triable either way offences prior to 2011, together with a large quantity of other offences to this day, are kept on paper records which would require manual inspection. This would be at disproportionate cost.
	Court Proceedings data for what can be provided by separate identification for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.
	Charging data are not held by the Ministry of Justice
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty and sentenced at all courts of offences under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species Regulations, England and Wales, 2011 to 20121, 2, 3 
			 Outcome 2011 2012 
			 Proceeded against 6 9 
		
	
	
		
			 Found guilty 7 1 
			 1 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 The number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown court, may be sentenced in the following year. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Dangerous Driving: Sentencing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if the Department will review the length of sentencing given to those who kill by dangerous driving and speeding.

Jeremy Wright: Severe maximum penalties, of 14 years imprisonment, are available for those who cause death through dangerous driving or under the influence of drink or drugs and statistics show that the overwhelming majority of those convicted for these offences receive lengthy custodial sentences. The maximum penalty for causing death by careless driving is five years imprisonment and for causing death by disqualified, unlicensed or uninsured driving is two years imprisonment. We are keeping the law in this area under review. If any changes are needed, we will bring forward proposals.
	Guidance to the judiciary is produced independently of Government, by the Sentencing Council. This is in line with the principle that, while the Government decide what maximum penalties should be, the courts are responsible for deciding what sentence to impose within those limits.
	The sentencing guideline on causing death by driving was published by the Sentencing Guidelines Council in 2008. It covers the offences of causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving as well as causing death by dangerous driving while under the influence of drink or drugs and causing death by driving unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured. Last year, my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice wrote to the Sentencing Council (as it now is) to ask them to review the death by driving guideline and they have agreed to include this in their programme of work.

Domestic Violence

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on the implementation of the so-called Eve’s Law.

Damian Green: The Government take the issue of domestic violence very seriously and are committed to ensuring greater protection for victims of all forms of violence.
	The issue raised by the Eve’s Law campaign is complex and cuts across a number of justice jurisdictions, and into many areas of a victim’s interaction with the state and other agencies.
	Having considered the issues raised by the campaign, this Department is not persuaded that primary legislation is the necessary and appropriate way forward. However, we are committed to taking action to improve the protection of personal information of victims and will identify opportunities in the cross-Government programmes that are tackling the priority issues of domestic and sexual abuse.
	I refer my hon. Friend to my response to questions raised in the House by the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis), regarding the Eve’s Law campaign, on 17 December 2013, Official Report, column 607, and 14 January 2014, Official Report, column 480W.

Electronic Tagging

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to introduce GPS technology for the electronic monitoring of offenders.

Jeremy Wright: The new contracts will introduce state-of-the-art satellite tagging that will allow us to keep a closer watch over offenders in the community. We are working to take this forward as quickly as possible, with a view to beginning roll out by the end of the year.

Essex Probation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of the response to each request to Essex Probation under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which was agreed to and answered in (a) full and (b) part since November 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: When Essex Probation Trust has provided us with the requested information, I will arrange for it to be placed in the Library.

Essex Probation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with Essex Probation Service since November 2013; what issues were raised in each such discussion; what steps his Department took following each such discussion; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: There have been no discussions between Ministers and Essex Probation Trust since November 2013. Ministry of Justice officials are in frequent contact with the trust.

Essex Probation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the salary was of the (a) Chief Executive and (b) Chairman of the Essex Probation Trust in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  2012-13 2013-14 
			 Chief Executive 85,000 to 90,000 85,000 to 90,000 
			 Chair 15,000 to 20,000 15,000 to 20,000

Essex Probation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received from Essex Probation Trust on the retention of the current board; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: From 1 June 2014, responsibility for probation provision in Essex will become the responsibility of the national probation service and the Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) for Essex. The national probation service will form part of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and will be accountable to the Secretary of State, via the chief executive of NOMS. The chief executive of the CRC was appointed on 2 December 2013. We are in the process of selecting the other CRC board members and these appointments will be announced in due course.

Essex Probation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any employees of Essex Probation have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted of a criminal offence in the last six months; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: No employee of Essex Probation Trust was convicted of a criminal offence in the last six months. Information on prosecutions that do not result in conviction is not collated.

Essex Probation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much Essex Probation (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on refreshments in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014 to date;
	(2)  how much Essex Probation (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on away days in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014 to date;
	(3)  how much (a) Essex Probation Trust Board and (b) Essex Probation (i) budgeted for and (ii) spent on away days in (A) 2013 and (B) 2014 to date;
	(4)  how much Essex Probation (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on bonuses for members of the Essex Probation Trust Board in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014 to date;
	(5)  how much Essex Probation Trust Board (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on refreshments in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014 to date;
	(6)  what amount has been budgeted for (a) involuntary and (b) voluntary exit schemes for members of (i) Essex Probation and (ii) Essex Probation Trust Board in each of the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement;
	(7)  how many people employed by Essex Probation Trust were eligible for performance and special bonuses at each grade in each of the last three years; how many people received each type of bonus at each grade in each such year; and what the average and maximum payment was for each type of bonus at each grade;
	(8)  how many members of Essex Probation Trust Board were eligible for performance and special bonuses in each of the last three years; how many board members received each type of bonus in each such year; what the average and maximum payment was for each type of bonus; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested could not be obtained within the timescale. I will write to the hon. Member in due course.

Essex Probation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much Essex Probation (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on security in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014 to date.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not collected centrally and could not be obtained within the timescale. I will write to the hon. Member in due course.

Essex Probation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what decisions his Department has made on retaining the Current Chief Executive of Essex Probation Trust; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: From 1 June 2014, responsibility for probation provision in Essex will become the responsibility of the national probation service and the Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) for Essex.
	The chief executive of the CRC for Essex has been appointed, following a competition. The appointment was announced on 2 December 2013.

Legal Profession: Pay

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what calculations were used to calculate the mean fee income for full-time criminal barristers published by his Department on 2 January 2014; and for what reasons VAT was included in the estimate of barristers' earnings.

Shailesh Vara: Figures provided in the statistical publication released on the 2 January 2014 are available at
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/legal-aid-statistics-barrister-fee-income-from-public-sources-201213
	and show that when including all 4,931 criminal barristers' payments, the mean average payment for 2012-13 was £72,010. This includes those barristers that may have provided legal assistance in only a small number of instances within this time period, and payments from both the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Legal Aid Agency (LAA). The release also contains information on the data and methodology used.
	The statistics provided in the publication and supporting documents included VAT and other additional costs due to the structure of the data obtained from the administrative systems within LAA, and also those provided by the CPS were aggregated figures that already included VAT. The basis of the calculations were set out in the publication.

Matrimonial Property

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on the introduction of legally binding pre-nuptial agreements.

Simon Hughes: The Law Commission published its report on Matrimonial Property, Needs and Agreements on 27 February 2014.
	The report focuses on clarifying the law in the areas of financial “need” and nuptial agreements and makes three broad recommendations:
	1. that written guidance is produced on financial need;
	2. that the feasibility is assessed of producing numerical guidance to help couples to calculate the likely financial outcome of divorce or dissolution; and
	3. that pre-nuptial agreements are made statutorily binding.
	The Government are grateful to the Law Commission for their hard work on this complex area of law.
	The Government are giving the report careful consideration. An interim response will be published by August 2014 and a full response by February 2015. These are the timescales established in protocol between the Law Commission and Government.

Personal Records: Databases

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what categories of personal information will be held on each database managed by his Department or its executive agencies expected to become operational in the next five years; what estimate he has made of the number of individuals' details each such database will hold when fully operational; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what categories of personal information are contained on each relevant database managed by his Department and its executive agencies; on what date each category of information was first collected; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what databases managed by his Department or its executive agencies and which will contain personal information are (a) under construction and (b) expected to go live in the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Hughes: I can confirm that the Ministry of Justice and its executive agencies including Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), currently have no plans to introduce any new HR-related centralised, multi-user database systems.
	In order to ascertain the individual categories of personal information across all existing, relevant centralised HR-related databases, we would be required to either allocate specialist business resources to identify the requirements and produce the data, or commission it directly from third party IT suppliers. All this would be at a disproportionate cost.

Pornography

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what meetings his Department has had with (a) Ministers and (b) officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to discuss proposals in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill on extreme pornography.

Damian Green: The Government are extending the extreme pornography offence to capture pornographic images depicting rape and other non-consensual penetrative sexual activity.
	Officials in the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have liaised closely on this matter.

Prisoners' Home Leave

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many offenders who were recalled to prison from home detention curfew have been subsequently released back onto home detention curfew since 3 December 2012;
	(2)  how many offenders have been recalled to prison and given a fixed term recall since 3 December 2012 whilst (a) on home detention curfew and (b) serving a sentence for a violent or sexual offence as listed in schedule 15 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Jeremy Wright: The information required to answer these questions is due for publication on 24 April 2014. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as it is available. A copy will be placed in the House Library.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answers of 5 February 2014, Official Report, column 293W and 28 February 2014, Official Report, column 548W, on prisoners: foreign nationals, which three countries have the next largest number of foreign nationals in UK prisons; and what steps he is taking to return those offenders to secure detention in their own countries.

Jeremy Wright: Data on the nationality of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) held in custody are published in the quarterly offender management statistics.
	Table 1.6:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/276084/prison-population-tables-q3-2013.xls
	The countries with the 7th, 8th and 9th largest populations of FNOs in UK prisons on 31 December 2013 are:
	7 Nigeria—(469)
	8 Somalia—(430)
	9 India—(426)
	We signed a Prisoner Transfer Arrangement (PTA) with Nigeria in January and we expect to see transfers before the end of the year.
	We do not have any prisoner transfer arrangements with Somalia at present, and security concerns and the requirement for prison reform may provide challenges in the short-term. We have a voluntary PTA with India and are planning to work to try and make this more effective.
	The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing Foreign National Offenders (FNOs). The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed 234 FNOs to date.

Probation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in which instances Probation Trust staff have been co-located with other public or private organisations in (a) Probation Trust premises and (b) other organisation premises; and what the annual cost to the Probation Trust is of sub-letting space shared with another organisation for the purpose of staff co-location.

Jeremy Wright: This information is not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Probation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who the current bidders for the Transforming Rehabilitation prime provider contracts are in each of the 21 geographic areas; and which bidders for these contracts have indicated but then withdrawn an interest.

Jeremy Wright: We have a robust and diverse market. In mid December 2013, the bidders who passed the first stage of the competition to win the regional rehabilitation contracts were announced. The list includes a mix of private and voluntary sector partnerships with more than 50 organisations represented—from charities experienced in tackling a range of issues affecting offenders, to small and large British businesses and experienced multinationals. All of these Tier one bidders have experience in working with offenders or across the wider Criminal Justice System. Approximately one third of the bidders included a potential mutual organisation within their consortium. A list of the bidders who have been successful at this stage can be found at:
	https://www.justice.gov.uk/transforming-rehabilitation/competition
	The process to award Community Rehabilitation Company contracts is ongoing and the details of which bidders are interested in bidding for each Contract Package Area (CPA) is commercially sensitive information, which it would not be right to make public at this stage as this would affect the bidding process for the overall competition. Additionally, for similar commercial reasons it is not general practice to release information on those organisations which have withdrawn from the competition.
	As requested by the authority, all bidders updated their CPA preferences on 22 January. The current lot preferences are an initial indication of the bidders for each region. This is not finalised and we will be conducting another refresh of lot preferences before final bids are submitted.

Sentencing: Wales

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were sentenced in the North Wales Police Force area to immediate custody for (a) less than six months and (b) six months or longer in each of the last six years, broken down by sex; and for which offences they were sentenced.

Jeremy Wright: Since 2010 the proportion of individuals receiving immediate custodial sentences in England and Wales and the length of those sentences has increased. Severe penalties are available for serious offences.
	The number of defendants sentenced to immediate custody at all courts by offence type, gender and sentence lengths in North Wales police force area from 2007 to 2012 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
	Please note that court proceedings statistics for the year 2013 are planned to be published by the Ministry of Justice in May 2014.
	
		
			 Offenders sentenced to immediate custody at all courts, by offence type, gender and sentence lengths in North Wales Police force area, 2007-121,2 
			      Of which: 
			 Gender Year Offence type Sentenced Total immediate custody Less than six months Six months and over 
			 Male 2007 Violence against the person 578 190 28 162 
			   Sexual offences 56 32 4 28 
			   Burglary 248 94 32 62 
			   Robbery 37 30 1 29 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 813 120 95 25 
			   Fraud and forgery 156 36 11 25 
			   Criminal damage 274 30 15 15 
			   Drug offences 387 90 16 74 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 525 121 34 87 
			   Motoring offences 65 18 3 15 
			   Summary non motoring offences 3,567 158 151 7 
			   Summary motoring offences 8,854 82 79 3 
			   Totals 15,560 1,001 469 532 
			        
			  2008 Violence against the person 557 218 53 165 
			   Sexual offences 81 48 5 43 
			   Burglary 287 122 32 90 
			   Robbery 26 26 0 26 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 1,003 150 127 23 
		
	
	
		
			   Fraud and forgery 151 50 21 29 
			   Criminal damage 322 35 27 8 
			   Drug offences 455 73 9 64 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 530 132 53 79 
			   Motoring offences 58 23 3 20 
			   Summary non motoring offences 3,413 190 178 12 
			   Summary motoring offences 7,694 65 63 2 
			   Totals 14,577 1,132 571 561 
			        
			  2009 Violence against the person 540 210 43 167 
			   Sexual offences 55 31 3 28 
			   Burglary 252 127 33 94 
			   Robbery 39 37 0 37 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 1,090 205 159 46 
			   Fraud and forgery 162 54 23 31 
			   Criminal damage 185 21 10 11 
			   Drug offences 482 152 19 133 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 645 199 98 101 
			   Motoring offences 68 27 5 22 
			   Summary non motoring offences 4,055 265 252 13 
			   Summary motoring offences 6,856 50 49 1 
			   Totals 14,429 1,378 694 684 
			        
			  2010 Violence against the person 587 200 35 165 
			   Sexual offences 75 44 5 39 
			   Burglary 278 113 34 79 
			   Robbery 29 24 0 24 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 1,299 196 177 19 
			   Fraud and forgery 182 40 20 20 
			   Criminal damage 222 20 11 9 
			   Drug offences 555 116 16 100 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 694 207 101 106 
			   Motoring offences 56 9 0 9 
			   Summary non motoring offences 3,572 205 200 5 
			   Summary motoring offences 6,442 37 37 0 
			   Totals 13,991 1,211 636 575 
			        
			  2011 Violence against the person 494 192 51 141 
			   Sexual offences 59 37 4 33 
			   Burglary 288 150 50 100 
			   Robbery 39 37 0 37 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 1,178 230 193 37 
			   Fraud and forgery 170 51 19 32 
			   Criminal damage 187 27 13 14 
			   Drug offences 511 113 19 94 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 494 124 69 55 
			   Motoring offences 51 16 1 15 
			   Summary non motoring offences 3,069 221 214 7 
			   Summary motoring offences 4,665 26 26 0 
			   Totals 11,205 1,224 659 565 
			        
			  2012 Violence against the person 474 212 49 163 
		
	
	
		
			   Sexual offences 81 57 4 53 
			   Burglary 283 145 44 101 
			   Robbery 56 55 0 55 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 1,126 224 183 41 
			   Fraud and forgery 123 37 16 21 
			   Criminal damage 123 18 11 7 
			   Drug offences 420 116 11 105 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 473 148 52 96 
			   Motoring offences 56 19 4 15 
			   Summary non motoring offences 2,810 222 215 7 
			   Summary motoring offences 3,929 44 43 1 
			   Totals 9,954 1,297 632 665 
			        
			 Female 2007 Violence against the person 84 16 7 9 
			   Sexual offences 3 2 0 2 
			   Burglary 16 5 2 3 
			   Robbery 3 1 0 1 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 206 18 16 2 
			   Fraud and forgery 62 1 0 1 
			   Criminal damage 45 1 1 0 
			   Drug offences 48 7 2 5 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 67 8 4 4 
			   Motoring offences 4 2 0 2 
			   Summary non motoring offences 1,734 15 15 0 
			   Summary motoring offences 1,688 0 0 0 
			   Totals 3,960 76 47 29 
			        
			  2008 Violence against the person 67 10 2 8 
			   Sexual offences 0 0 0 0 
			   Burglary 28 9 1 8 
			   Robbery 2 2 0 2 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 229 23 22 1 
			   Fraud and forgery 67 9 7 2 
			   Criminal damage 53 5 1 4 
			   Drug offences 58 4 2 2 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 68 8 7 1 
			   Motoring offences 3 0 0 0 
			   Summary non motoring offences 1,728 14 12 2 
			   Summary motoring offences 1,689 0 0 0 
			   Totals 3,992 84 54 30 
			        
			  2009 Violence against the person 77 13 2 11 
			   Sexual offences 0 0 0 0 
			   Burglary 15 7 2 5 
			   Robbery 2 1 0 1 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 292 23 17 6 
			   Fraud and forgery 66 12 6 6 
			   Criminal damage 16 3 0 3 
			   Drug offences 57 13 2 11 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 92 13 11 2 
			   Motoring offences 5 0 0 0 
			   Summary non motoring offences 2,178 13 13 - 
		
	
	
		
			   Summary motoring offences 1,805 3 3 - 
			   Totals 4,605 101 56 45 
			        
			  2010 Violence against the person 100 10 1 9 
			   Sexual offences 1 0 0 0 
			   Burglary 11 6 0 6 
			   Robbery 4 4 0 4 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 267 15 14 1 
			   Fraud and forgery 57 5 3 2 
			   Criminal damage 29 0 0 0 
			   Drug offences 57 6 0 6 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 99 15 10 5 
			   Motoring offences 0 0 0 0 
			   Summary non motoring offences 1,930 13 12 1 
			   Summary motoring offences 1,713 0 0 0 
			   Totals 4,268 74 40 34 
			        
			  2011 Violence against the person 93 13 1 12 
			   Sexual offences 0 0 0 0 
			   Burglary 18 3 0 3 
			   Robbery 2 1 0 1 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 316 13 13 - 
			   Fraud and forgery 76 9 1 8 
			   Criminal damage 24 2 1 1 
			   Drug offences 42 5 0 5 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 88 17 9 8 
			   Motoring offences 3 1 0 1 
			   Summary non motoring offences 1,664 9 9 0 
			   Summary motoring offences 1,283 1 1 0 
			   Totals 3,609 74 35 39 
			        
			  2012 Violence against the person 70 14 3 11 
			   Sexual offences 0 0 0 0 
			   Burglary 15 6 0 6 
			   Robbery 2 1 0 1 
			   Theft and Handling stolen goods 301 34 27 7 
			   Fraud and forgery 54 10 2 8 
			   Criminal damage 17 1 0 1 
			   Drug offences 43 8 0 8 
			   Other (excluding motoring offences) 49 13 6 7 
			   Motoring offences 7 0 0 0 
			   Summary non motoring offences 1,605 10 10 - 
			   Summary motoring offences 1,070 0 0 0 
			   Totals 3,233 97 48 49 
			 1 The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Television: Licensing

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in Northern Ireland per 10,000 of the population were prosecuted for non-payment of the television licence fee in each of the last three years.

Shailesh Vara: My Department's Court Proceedings database holds information on criminal justice statistics only in England and Wales. Criminal Justice Statistics in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland, which the hon. Member will need to contact directly.
	The offence of using a TV receiver without a valid licence carries a maximum penalty of a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (£1,000). Failure to pay such a fine can lead, following enforcement action and as a last resort, to committal to prison for fine default for a maximum of 28 days.

Television: Licensing

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of the people imprisoned in 2012 for non-payment of fines relating to television licence evasion had other unpaid fines for other offences; and how many outstanding fines on average such people had.

Shailesh Vara: It is not possible to identify from Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals systems the original offences of people sent to prison for non payment of fines or how many other fines they may have had. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost as identifying this would require a manual search of all closed and live fine accounts.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he first became aware of the so-called comfort letters issued to on-the-runs; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The Government have announced an independent inquiry led by Lady Justice Hallett which will set out the facts in relation to the operation and extent of the ‘on the runs' scheme. This issue is a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Young Offenders

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what resources his Department has provided to youth offending teams to support families in order to prevent youth offending since May 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The YJB distributes an annual grant to the 158 Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) in England and Wales (£92 million in 2014-15). YOTs decide locally how to use this funding, and the YJB is therefore unable to determine the proportion of this funding spent specifically on supporting families to prevent youth offending:
	Funding for the purposes of preventing youth offending is also provided to Local Authority Children's Services, via the Department for Education's Early Intervention Grant; and to Police and Crime Commissioners via the Home Office's Community Safety Grant. In addition, the Ministry of Justice has provided £25 million over three years towards the Troubled Families Programme, and is helping to shape the next phase of the expanded Programme.

Youth Custody

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which secure children’s homes Ministers of his Department have visited since May 2010; and what the date of each such visit was.

Jeremy Wright: Ministers from the Department have made two visits to secure children’s homes since May 2010; my hon. Friend the Member for Reigate (Crispin Blunt), to Vinney Green secure children’s home on 3 August 2010, and the Minister without Portfolio, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), to Clayfields house secure children’s home on 14 October 2011. I am also scheduled to visit Clayfields house on 10 April 2014.

Youth Custody

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what was the (a) capacity and (b) population of each (A) secure training centre, (B) young offender institution and (C) secure children's home on 1 March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013 and (v) 2014.

Jeremy Wright: Overall crime and proven offending by young people has fallen in recent years. Fewer young people have entered the criminal justice system, and as a result fewer young people have ended up in custody. This has allowed excess capacity in the youth secure estate to be decommissioned.
	The following table shows the (a) capacity and (b) population of each secure children's home, secure training centre and under-18 young offender institution at the end of February in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 and at the end of January in 2014 (this is the latest available published data for 2014). This relates to either the last Friday of the month in question, or the first Friday of the following month, depending on which is closest to final day of the month. Data for the end of February therefore offer the closest available published data to 1 March.
	The “capacity” figure relates to the number of beds available, allowing for any “out of commission” beds due to, for example, damage to rooms or contractual changes.
	This information comes from the Youth Justice Board's Secure Accommodation Clearing House System (SACHS) database and eAsset database. The January 2014 database is provisional. The final 2013-14 figures will be finalised in 2013-14 Youth Justice Statistics to be published in January 2015.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.
	
		
			 Table 1: Capacity and population of each secure children’s home, secure training centre and young offender institution at the end of February for 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and at the end of January 2014 
			 Sector Establishment February 2010 February 2011 February 2012 
			   Capacity Population Capacity Population Capacity Population 
			 Secure children's homes (under 18) Aldine House 4 3 4 4 4 4 
			  Atkinson Unit 3 3 0 0 0 0 
			  Aycliffe 30 19 30 13 30 28 
			  Barton Moss 20 20 20 18 20 20 
			  Clayfields 12 9 15 15 15 15 
			  East Moor 34 30 34 27 25 24 
			  Hillside 15 15 17 17 17 17 
			  Kyloe House 3 2 0 0 0 0 
			  Lincolnshire 9 9 10 10 10 9 
			  Red Bank 28 25 29 25 29 24 
			  Swanwick Lodge 12 12 12 12 13 13 
			  Vinney Green 21 18 21 21 21 21 
			  Secure Children's Homes total 191 165 192 162 184 175 
			         
			 Secure training centres (under 18) Hassockfield 58 51 58 42 58 52 
			  Medway 76 71 76 71 76 70 
			  Oakhill 80 74 80 76 80 70 
			  Rainsbrook 87 71 87 82 87 84 
			  Secure Training Centres total 301 267 301 271 301 276 
			         
			 Young offender institutions (including 18) Ashfield 400 236 360 342 360 287 
			  Castington 167 106 0 0 0 0 
			  Cookham Wood 98 99 100 93 131 125 
			  Downview 16 9 16 11 16 13 
			  Eastwood Park 16 14 16 11 16 13 
			  Feltham 236 224 238 231 240 205 
			  Foston Hall 16 9 0 0 0 0 
			  Hindley 415 346 417 319 417 289 
			  Huntercombe 360 194 0 0 0 0 
			  New Hall 26 14 26 8 9 6 
			  Parc 64 63 63 49 64 53 
			  Stoke Heath 144 132 202 53 0 0 
			  Warren Hill 201 158 127 121 177 133 
			  Werrington 160 133 153 141 142 136 
			  Wetherby 407 284 382 355 371 346 
			  Young Offender Institutions total 2,726 2,021 2,100 1,734 1,943 1,606 
			  Total 3,218 2,453 2,593 2,167 2,428 2,057 
		
	
	
		
			 Sector Establishment February 2013 January 2014 
			   Capacity Population Capacity Population 
			 Secure children's homes (under 18) Aldine House 4 1 4 4 
			  Atkinson Unit 0 0 0 0 
			  Aycliffe 24 13 24 17 
			  Barton Moss 18 17 16 12 
			  Clayfields 14 10 14 14 
			  East Moor 25 19 25 24 
		
	
	
		
			  Hillside 17 14 17 11 
			  Kyloe House 0 0 0 0 
			  Lincolnshire 10 6 10 10 
			  Red Bank 21 11 21 16 
			  Swanwick Lodge 12 12 10 9 
			  Vinney Green 21 17 21 21 
			  Secure Children's Homes total 166 120 162 138 
			       
			 Secure training centres (under 18) Hassockfield 58 34 58 43 
			  Medway 76 71 68 62 
			  Oakhill 80 69 80 80 
			  Rainsbrook 81 66 87 81 
			  Secure Training Centres total 295 240 293 266 
			       
			 Young offender institutions (including 18) Ashfield 360 103 0 0 
			  Castington 0 0 0 0 
			  Cookham Wood 125 97 126 120 
			  Downview 16 5 0 0 
			  Eastwood Park 14 7 0 0 
			  Feltham 240 165 240 226 
			  Foston Hall 0 0 0 0 
			  Hindley 431 180 248 161 
			  Huntercombe 0 0 0 0 
			  New Hall 9 2 0 0 
			  Parc 64 36 64 47 
			  Stoke Heath 0 0 0 0 
			  Warren Hill 181 115 0 0 
			  Werrington 155 131 160 118 
			  Wetherby 392 223 259 214 
			  Young Offender Institutions total 1,987 1,064 1,097 886 
			  Total 2,448 1,424 1,552 1,290

Youth Justice Board

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of the Youth Justice Board's budget has been spent on research in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The statutory functions of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) include that of identifying and promoting good practice to prevent and reduce youth crime. In undertaking this function, the YJB works closely with local services, research bodies and academic institutions.
	The following table shows the YJB's central expenditure on research for each full financial year since 2009-10 alongside the proportion of that expenditure against the YJB's overall expenditure for the year.
	No new central research was commissioned in 2012-13 to enable the completion and publication of ongoing research projects. Figures relating to YJB's research programme expenditure for 2013-14 will be published in the YJB's Annual Report and Accounts due for publication in July. This and previous reports can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/yjb
	
		
			  Research programme (£000) Proportion of spend on research programme against the YJB's total net expenditure (after interest) (percentage) 
			 2009-10 666 0.13 
			 2010-11 157 0.03 
			 2011-12 204 0.05 
			 2012-13 0 0.00

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Clergy: Retirement

Frank Field: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church Commissioners are considering changing the compulsory retirement age for clergy.

Tony Baldry: The retirement age of 70 for archbishops, bishops, deans, archdeacons, incumbent clergy and some other clerical office holders is provided for in the Ecclesiastical Offices (Age Limits) Measure 1975 and there are no plans for introducing amending legislation though the subject is kept under review.
	There is already some flexibility. Extensions for up to two years beyond 70 are possible for incumbents where the bishop believes there are sufficient pastoral reasons and for up to a year for archbishops and bishops. In addition parish clergy may under the common tenure arrangements move to a new status on reaching the retirement age and, with the agreement of the bishop, continue to minister for fixed term periods.
	It was only in 2011 that capability requirements were introduced for the first time and these do not apply to the large number of clergy who were already in office and chose to retain the freehold rather than switch to common tenure. Reverting to the pre 1975 situation of no retirement ages or significantly increasing the present retirement age are unlikely to be options until the new capability requirements have proved themselves and apply to the great majority of clergy.